BY  WALDRON  KINTZING  POST. 


HARVARD  STORIES.     Sketches  of  the  Under= 
graduate. 

12°,  paper,   $octs;  cloth,  $1.00. 

u  The  undergraduate  who  haunts  the  classic  shades  of  Cambridge 
has  often  been  sketched,  but  never  on  the  whole  with  so  much 
piquancy  and  fidelity  to  truth  as  by  Mr.  Post." — Boston  Beacon. 

SMITH  BRUNT.    A  Story  of  the  Old  Navy. 

12°,   cloth,  $ 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW    YORK  LONDON 


SMITH  BRUNT 

A  STORY  OF  THE  OLD  NAVY 


BY 

WALDRON  KINTZING  POST 

n 

AUTHOR  OF  "  HARVARD  STORIES,"  ETC. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  &  LONDON 
Cbe  Iknfcfcerbocfcer  press 

1899 


COPYRIGHT,  1899 

BY 

WALDRON  KINTZING  POST 
Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 


Gbc  Tknfchcrboefccr  press,  Hew  li?otfe 


PREFACE. 

THIS  book  is  not  a  product  of  the  recent  war  with 
Spain.  It  was  nearly  all  written  more  than  a  year  ago, 
and  conceived  long  before  that.  The  United  States 
Navy  existed  prior  to  1898,  though  apparently  undis 
covered  till  then  by  some  persons.  Before  that  date 
also  there  have  been  good  people  in  England,  very 
like  our  worthy  selves. 

W.  K.  P. 

October,   1899. 


M176663 


CONTENTS. 


I.  MORE  OR  LESS  INTRODUCTORY,  AS  USUAL,     i 
II.  THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IROQUOIS.         .         .      20 
III.  WHICH  TREATS  OF  THE  CASTAWAYS  AND 
OF  A  MR.  LAWRENCE,  A  GENTLEMAN 

OF  THE  NAVY 32 

IV.  WHEREIN  SMITH  GOES  INTO  THE  WORLD,     45 

V.  IN  WHICH  THE  LIEUTENANT  COMES  HOME    60 

VI.  WHAT  HAPPENED  ON  THE  BEACH     .         .     77 

VII,  MOSTLY  HISTORY,  NOT  MADE  BY  SMITH  .     96 

VIII.  A  TALE  FROM  THE  COAST  OF  THE  HIGH 

BARBARY   ...  .no 

IX.  A  RARE  DAY  IN  JUNE       ....   127 

X.    NEWS  FROM   THE  SOUTH  SEAS  .  .  .149 

XI.  ALL  IN  VALPARAISO  BAY.         .         .         .   159 
XII.  A  FAMOUS  VICTORY !75 

XIII.  THE  Two  LIEUTENANTS.         .         .         .183 

XIV.  IN  CAPTIVITY  AT  VAUXHALL  .         .         .191 
XV.  AT  THE  COACHING  INN    ....  203 

XVI.  OF    THE    NEIGHBORS   AND    INMATES    OF 

WYCHERLEIGH  HOUSE         .         .         .214 
XVII.  TEDDY  BECOMES  PROMINENT  AT  DINNER  226 
XVIII.  A  WALK  AND  A  SWIM        ....  235 
XIX.  IN   WHICH    Two    CHARACTERS    OBTAIN 

ADVANTAGES     .         .         .         .         .  345 

XX.  ABOUT  AN  EVENING  IN  SOUTHAMPTON     .  257 

XXI.  A  WOMAN  WITHOUT  A  COUNTRY      .         .271 


vi  Contents. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXII.  HOME  AGAIN    .  ....  285 

XXIII.  SIR  THOMAS      ...  .         .  301 

XXIV.  WHAT  THEY  LEARNED  AT  MOGADOR       .  318 
XXV.  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  BIJUNGA       .         .         .338 

XXVI.  PROVING  TRUTH  STRANGER  THAN  FICTION  351 
XXVII.  THE  ISLAND  QUEEN.         .  .         .  364 

XXVIII.  How  SMITH  AND  HERBERT  MET  AGAIN 

AT  GIBRALTAR  .....  3^9 
XXIX.  How  THEY  RACED  ACROSS  THE  ATLANTIC  388 
XXX.  IN  WHICH    MR.    HAWKINS    SETTLES   AN 

OLD  ACCOUNT 4°9 

XXXI.  THE  FINISH  OF  THE  RACE         .  .  415 

XXXII.  IN    THE  MATTER  OF  THE  WYCHERLEIGH 

TITLE 427 

XXXIII.  THE  AFFIDAVIT  OF  OREN  BENJAMIN         .  440 
EPILOGUE,   1862        .         .         .         .  •      .  456 


SMITH  BRUNT 


SMITH  BRUNT, 
UNITED  STATES    NAVY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MORE    OR    LESS   INTRODUCTORY,    AS   USUAL. 

"\I  7HEN  the  migratory  Yankee  homeward  flies,  and 
'"  the  great  boats  of  the  Atlantic  ferry  are  on 
their  last  day's  run  for  Sandy  Hook,  the  first  light 
sighted  is  usually  Shinnecock,  the  next  Fire  Island. 
Between  these  two,  and  beyond  on  either  side  to 
Gravesend  Bay  and  Montauk  Point  stretches  a  rank  of 
low  sand  hills,  green  and  gray  in  the  sunlight,  white 
under  the  moon,  and  dreary  at  all  times  to  a  stranger's 
eye.  At  this  point  the  homing  tourist,  who  to  some 
foreigner  has  been  boasting  of  our  scenery,  as  though 
we  deserved  much  of  the  credit  for  it,  is  apt  to  become 
apologetic  and  to  advise  the  visitor  to  go  up  the 
Hudson  at  once.  Not  so,  however,  if  he  be  a  Long 
Islander.  To  us  those  barren  hills  are  of  more  interest 
than  the  Highlands,  for  they  are  the  borders  of  Home. 
It  is  a  monotonous  coast  we  are  told  ;  but  surely  in 
its  moods  and  conditions  at  least,  it  shows  enough  of 
variety.  In  July  it  is  covered  with  merrymakers. 
There  the  cockney  on  vacation  struts  to  and  fro  in  all 
the  joyous  vulgarity  of  his  summer  plumage,  delivers 
himself  of  nautical  terms  begotten  by  his  yachting  cap, 


2  Smith  Brunt. 

and  with  easy  familiarity  shies  clam  shells  across  the 
face  of  the  wine  dark  sea.  The  drowsy  ocean  smiles 
good  humoredly  at  his  liberties,  purrs  around  the  feet 
of  little  wading  children,  and  laughs  at  the  loves  of 
Ed  and  Mamie  beneath  the  hollow  umbrella.  A  few 
months  later  it  will  crunch  a  good  schooner  in  its  jaws, 
and  lick  the  frozen  crew  one  by  one  from  the  rigging. 

Behind  the  beach  hills  stretches,  narrow  and  shoal, 
the  long  reach  of  the  Great  South  Bay.  Land-locked, 
except  for  a  few  narrow  inlets,  it  resembles  a  river 
more  than  a  bay  for  nearly  half  its  length  of  sixty 
miles,  but  from  Fire  Island  Inlet  to  Smith's  Point  it  is 
from  three  to  seven  miles  in  width.  The  waters,  that 
look  dark  and  deep,  conceal  everywhere  "  flats "  or 
shoals,  particularly  along  the  southern  side  next  to  the 
ocean,  so  that  their  navigation  is  impossible  to  a 
stranger.  Visitors  are  apt  to  scoff  at  our  bay  and  its 
imposing  name,  but  to  the  scorner  it  may  do  worse 
than  hold  him  over  night  on  a  flat.  In  a  marvelously 
short  time  it  can  throw  off  the  disguise  of  a  quiet  in 
land  lake,  and  rant  in  its  true  character,  an  arm  of  the 
sea.  Nothing  shelters  it  from  the  ocean  gales  but  the 
low  sand  hills  and  the  flat  meadows  behind  them,  not 
more  than  a  few  hundred  yards  wide.  The  whole  pro 
tecting  strip  of  salt  meadow  and  sand  is  called  the 
Beach,  the  part  bordering  on  the  ocean  being  distin 
guished  as  the  surf  shore. 

To  complete  this  geographical  sketch,  (which  is  nec 
essary  in  order  to  understand  the  rest  of  the  story^ 
really  it  is),  the  South  Bay  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Long  Island.  Some  North  Side  people  might  be  nar 
row  enough  to  say  that  Long  Island  is  bordered  on 
the  south  by  the  Great  South  Bay,  but  over  there  they 
do  not  appreciate  the  importance  of  this  sheet  of  water 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  3 

to  which  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  rest  of  the  United 
States  to  be  an  adjunct.  On  the  North  Side  they  have 
woods  and  hills  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  do  not 
know  that  beauty,  like  our  bay,  is  but  skin  deep.  On 
the  South  Side  we  do  not  expect  strangers  to  admire 
our  scenery.  It  is  in  every  sense  plain,  but  to  the  in 
habitant  grows  dear,  like  a  homely  wife  with  many  vir 
tues.  The  country  is  flat  and  open  as  the  palm  of  your 
hand,  with  no  crowd  of  trees  to  shut  out  good  light 
and  air,  and  under  your  feet  is  clean,  wholesome  sand. 
Back  in  the  brush  you  can  see  for  miles  over  the  scrub 
oaks  and  through  the  sparse  pines — that  is  where  the 
quail  live.  Here  and  there  is  a  swamp  that  holds 
woodcock.  Along  the  shore  are  the  salt  meadows, 
inviting  to  snipe,  and  cut  everywhere  by  creeks  that 
harbor  trout.  Out  in  the  bay  are  the  broad-bill  and 
blue  fish,  and  on  the  Beach  the  old  black  ducks.  What 
more  would  you  have  for  scenery?  For  a  short  time 
in  early  summer  all  is  green  ;  then  comes  the  scorching 
July  sun,  (usually  making  "  the  driest  season  ever 
known  "),  and  turns  everything  to  a  neutral  tint.  Dur 
ing  most  of  the  year,  therefore,  the  prevailing  color  is 
brown.  The  brush  is  brown,  the  meadows  are  brown, 
the  seaweed  is  brown,  and  brown  were  the  men  sitting 
on  the  end  of  the  Bayhampton  dock  one  autumn  after 
noon  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1806.  So  we  have  at  last 
come  to  our  story. 

Whoever  has  sailed  by  the  village  of  Bayhampton, 
which  is  any  village  on  the  Great  South  Bay,  must  have 
observed  two  cat-boats  racing.  Those  two  boats  are 
always  at  it,  and  were  there  in  1806.  This  particular 
race  must  have  been  of  unusual  interest,  for  it  had 
drawn  most  of  Bayhampton  to  the  dock.  Raynor 
Terry  ought  to  have  rolled  up  his  bleaching  sails 


4  Smith   Brunt. 

before  the  dew  came  on  them  ;  Hen  Swezey  had  a 
bushel  of  eels  to  skin,  and  eels  age  rapidly  ashore  ; 
Will  Hawkins'  hay  was  but  half  in,  and  there  was  every 
sign  of  a  southeaster.  But  on  the  old  sporting  South 
Side,  when  a  good  race  is  in  progress,  all  less  serious 
business  must  cease. 

"  Smith  Brunt  had  ought  to  win,"  observed  one  of  the 
Smiths  ;  "  Carm  Hawkins  has  hold  of  his  stick  and 
that's  half  the  race  for  any  boat." 

"  No  he  hasn't,  either,"  contradicted  one  of  the 
Hawkinses.  "  They're  each  sailin'  his  own  boat. 
That's  part  of  the  match." 

"  Well,  anyhow,  Carm's  a-settin'  alongside  of  him 
tellin'  him  just  what  to  do,"  replied  the  confident 
critic.  "  Smith's  a  firstrate  tiller  hand  himself,  and 
the  Dowicher  is  the  smartest  piece  o'  wood  in  the  bay, 
/think.  •  Oh,  he's  sure  of  it." 

At  this  point  the  Oldest  Bayman  grunted  ominously 
and  shook  his  head,  whereat  there  was  silence  while 
thus  he  spake  : 

"  It  don't  make  no  sort  o'  difference  how  smart  his 
boat  is,  it  don't  do  no  particle  o'  good  how  well  he 
sails  her,  young  Smith  Brunt  can't  win  no  race  nor 
nothin'  else."  Having  settled  the  question  by  this 
overwhelming  force  of  negatives,  the  old  man  removed 
his  pipe  from  his  mouth  and  continued  : 

"  His  father,  Cap'n  Bob,  is  just  the  same  way.  So 
was  his  grandfather,  old  Boss  John.  Worst  luck  ever  I 
see  always  seems  to  dog  that  family.  Folks  talk  about 
the  late  General  Washington,  God  bless  him,  and  patri 
otic  valor  and  things.  Maybe  they  counted  for  some- 
thin',  but  I  tell  you  the  real  reason  we  got  clear  of  the 
old  country,  was  because  Cap'n  Bob  stuck  to  the  king. 
That's  what  fixed  the  king.  I  remember " 


Introductory,   as   Usual.  5 

Here  the  Oldest  Bayman  was  interrupted  by  a  sound 
that  might  have  come  from  one  of  the  gulls  overhead 
had  it  not  been  articulate  in  these  words  : 

"  Has  anybody  seen  that  nephew  of  mine  loafm* 
'round  the  shore  ?  " 

The  producer  of  the  sound  was  angular  as  her  voice. 
Among  the  few  beautiful  things  that  we  have  on  the 
South  Side  are  women  and  boats  ;  but  Miss  Hephzibah 
Carman  was  an  exception.  She  repeated  her  question 
as  the  knot  of  men  turned. 

"  There  ain't  much  need  to  ask  that,  Miss  Carman," 
replied  one  of  them.  "  Don't  you  see  them  two  boats 
a-racin'  over  yonder  ?  Now  you  know  where  Carm 
is." 

"Yes,  and  I  suppose  the  whull  lot  of  you  egged  him 
on  to  it,"  retorted  Miss  Carman.  "  I  sent  him  on  an 
errand  two  hours  ago  and  that's  the  way  he  does  it. 
Just  wait  till  I  catch  him." 

"  Oh,  now,  Hepsy,  don't  be  too  hard  on  him," 
pleaded  the  Oldest  Bayman.  "Young  Smith  Brunt 
wanted  Carm  to  sail  with  him  particular,  and  you 
wouldn't  have  had  him  disappoint  Cap'n  Bob's  boy, 
now  would  you  ?  Specially  when  it  was  a  race  agin 
that  city  friend  of  hisn." 

"  Smith  had  ought  to  knowed  better.  It's  all  very 
well  for  them  as  is  well  fixed  to  be  foolin'  away  their  time 
boat  racirr,  but  my  nephew  has  his  work  to  do.  I'll 
never  be  able  to  learn  that  boy  to  support  himself  let 
alone  his  poor,  helpless,  dotin'  aunt.  But  I'll  snatch 
Him  bald-headed  for  it." 

"  You'd  ought  to  let  him  follow  the  bay,  anyhow," 
remarked  Raynor  Terry,  fisherman.  "  Carm  wasn't 
never  built  for  no  cow  driver.  He's  designed  for  salt 
water." 


6  Smith   Brunt. 

"  For  a  good-for-nothin',  shiftless  clam  ketcher  jest 
like  you,  I  suppose  you  mean.  About  all  he  does  now 
is  gunnin'  and  fishin'  and  loafin*  about  in  boats.  How 
are  they  makin'  out  ?  " 

Whether  to  learn  for  herself,  the  answer  to  this  last 
question,  or  to  lie  in  wait  for  her  nephew,  Miss 
Hephzibah  remained  on  the  dock,  closely  watching  the 
race  from  the  recesses  of  her  sunbonnet. 

The  two  boats  were  beating  up  to  the  windward 
mark  for  the  last  time.  In  the  cockpit  of  the  leader 
crouched  a  lad  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  with  one 
leg  doubled  under  him,  the  other  stretched  out  and 
braced  against  the  lee  combing,  and  his  eye  glancing 
from  the  luff  of  his  sail  to  the  seas  that  by  force  of  the 
growing  northeaster  were  now  beginning  to  need  care 
ful  watching.  His  hand  on  the  tiller  felt  the  pulse  and 
governed  every  motion  of  the  delicate,  beautiful 
organism.  With  reason  is  a  boat  classed  in  the  femi 
nine  sex.  Graceful,  sympathetic,  constant,  unreason 
able, — she  does  ever  the  bidding  of  him  who  wisely 
loves  and  governs,  and  may  be  death  to  him  who 
understands  her  not.  With  a  weak  and  vacillating 
hand  at  the  helm  she  is  all  in  the  wind,  nervous,  un 
manageable  ;  on  the  other  hand,  brutal,  senseless  force 
will  crush  her  staggering  down  into  the  seas  and  may 
overwhelm  both  craft  and  helms-man.  Young  Smith 
Brunt  made  no  such  errors.  Firmly  and  gently  he 
met  every  movement  of  his  boat's  head  and  worked 
her  steadily  to  windward.  His  crew  stretched  flat 
along  the  weather  washboard,  taking  the  seas  uncom 
plainingly  on  their  backs.  On  the  quarter,  lay  on  one 
elbow,  a  spare  brown  youth  evidently  several  years 
older  than  the  helmsman.  This  afterguard  had  charge 
of  the  sheet  and  divided  his  attention  between  the 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  7 

sail,  the  weather  mark,  and  the  adversary  who  was 
approaching  on  the  other  tack. 

"Carry  it  just  a  little  longer,  my  lady,"  said  the 
skipper,  as  he  kept  off  a  little  to  dodge  a  particularly 
heavy  sea  and  buried  the  washboard  uncomfortably 
in  so  doing.  "  We  are  almost  at  the  top  of  the  hill." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  remarked  the  youth  on  the 
counter.  These  exact  words  are  not  to  be  found  in 
any  dictionary,  but  when  uttered  by  Mr.  Carman 
Hawkins  implied  serious  doubt.  "  Guess  she'd  walk 
along  considerable  faster  if  she  was  reefed.  This 
water  is  getting  pretty  solid  and  you've  got  to  give 
her  a  good  full  to  keep  her  goin'." 

"  We  can't  stop  to  reef  now,"  answered  Brunt.  *:  We 
can  carry  full  sail  as  long  as  he  does.  While  we  are 
beating  him  there  is  no  use  in  changing." 

"  Guess  that's  principle.  Let  well  enough  be," 
assented  the  bayman.  "  You'll  cross  his  bow  with 
plenty  to  spare  this  hitch.  I'll  ease  the  sheet  a  little 
and  you  can  send  her  along  " — crash  !  the  boom  had 
come  down  and  the  sail  bellyed  out  and  then  shook 
violently  as  Brunt  brought  his  boat  in  the  wind  to 
meet  this  catastrophe. 

"  There,  now  I  guess  we'll  reef,"  remarked  Carman 
Hawkins,  in  almost  a  satisfied  tone,  and  reached  for 
the  flapping  leach. 

"  Take  her,  Will,"  cried  Brunt,  as  he  left  the  helm 
and  sprang  to  the  fallen  throat  halliards.  "  Herm, 
lower  away  the  peak  !  One  reef,  Carm." 

"The  whole  thing  is  down  on  deck.  'Tain't  the  hal 
liards,  it's  the  eye  in  the  withe,"  said  one  man  looking 
aloft. 

The  skipper  had  appreciated  that  fact  in  the  first 
glance,  and  being  the  lightest  man  aboard,  was  already 


8  Smith   Brunt. 

half  way  up  the  swaying  mast,  with  the  throat  halliard 
block  hanging  from  his  teeth. 

"  Look  out  you  don't  turn  her  over  up  there,"  shouted 
the  careful  Hawkins.  "Trim  her  careful  you  boys. 
Three  of  us  is  enough  to  get  all  snug  by  the  time 
he  gets  down." 

At  the  masthead  Smith  Brunt  in  a  short  time  had  the 
block  lashed  in  place  more  securely  than  the  treacher 
ous  iron  had  held  it  before.  While  all  this  was  going 
on,  however,  the  disabled  boat  had  been  drifting  to  lee 
ward.  The  triumphant  adversary  had  rushed  across  her 
bow  and  got  almost  to  the  stake  before  Smith  had  re 
paired  damages. 

11  That's  all  right.  You  can't  tell  who's  judge  till 
after  election,"  observed  Carman  Hawkins.  "  We're 
a  candidate  yet." 

But  the  gap  between  the  boats  was  a  great  strain  on 
the  hoping  powers  of  the  most  sanguine.  It  is  terribly 
trying  to  see  your  opponent  round  the  weather  mark 
and  leap  off  to  leeward  while  you  are  still  pounding 
painfully  up  hill.  When  the  Dowicher  at  last  reached 
that  stake  boat,  her  rival  was  nearly  a  mile  away  on  the 
run  home.  As  she  rounded  and  the  sheet  ran  out, 
every  man  jumped  to  his  feet  and  spread  his  coat  to 
help  the  shortened  canvas.  The  boom  was  topped  up, 
and  Carman  Hawkins  lay  out  on  it,  loosing  the  reef 
points  ahead  of  him  as  he  went,  and  cast  off  the  plat 
and  tackle.  Then  the  sail  was  swayed  up  as  much  as 
possible,  and  the  little  craft  settled  her  stern  in  the 
water,  threw  back  her  head  and  tore  after  the  chase 
like  a  little  lady.  Steadily  she  cut  down  the  distance 
by  which  she  was  to  be  beaten  but  could  do  no  more. 
Before  the  leader  could  be  blanketed  he  had  crossed 
the  line. 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  9 

Wearily  they  reefed  the  sail  again  and  turned  the 
poor  little  boat's  head  for  the  dock.  Under  such  cir 
cumstances  there  is  but  slight  virtue  in  "  if."  The 
crew  were  all  very  wet  and  felt  it.  Smith  Brunt  was 
wet,  too,  but  felt  only  for  his  boat.  There  are  many 
yachtsmen  nowadays  who  build  new  craft  every  year 
or  two,  and  discard  the  old  ones.  They  win  races  and 
are  good  sportsmen,  but  cannot  know  what  it  is  to 
love  a  boat  and  have  her  win  or  lose.  If  you  have 
never  known  that  affection  yourself  you  may  laugh  at 
it;  but  every  one  of  Smith  Brunt's  crew  knew  how  he 
felt.  Nothing  was  said  for  a  long  time.  Carman 
Hawkins  first  broke  the  silence  by  remarking  irrele 
vantly,  "  It's  goin'  to  come  southeast  and  blow  a 
breeze  o'  wind  to-night.  That  there  surf  has  been  hol- 
lerin'  all  day  like  a  crazy  bull.  Hear  it  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  it's  goin'  to  blow  great  guns  on  the  dock 
pretty  soon,  too,  Carm,"  added  Will  Homan.  "  There's 
your  Aunt  Hepsy." 

"  By  jiggers,  so  it  is!"  ejaculated  Carm.  "Guess 
I'll  double  reef  my  ears.  I  know  it's  goin'  to  be  heavy 
weather  from  the  set  of  her  elbows.  Darned  if  I  know 
what's  riled  her.  She  sent  me  to  the  store  to  get  some 
lemons  and  they  didn't  have  none,  but  Hen  Howell 
said  they  calculated  to  have  some  by  the  stage  this 
evenin',  so  I've  been  waitin'  for  'em  to  come.  When 
I'm  sent  to  do  a  thing  I  don't  like  to  go  back  without 
doin*  it.  That's  principle,  ain't  it  ?  Look-a-here,  Cap, 
I  guess  we'd  better  not  go  to  the  dock  ;  we'd  better 
take  this  boat  right  round  to  the  crik.  It's  goin'  to 
blow  half  a  gale  to-night  and  she  won't  be  safe  at  her 
moorin's.  Besides  I'd  kind  o'  like  to  get  them  lemons 
before  my  dear  Aunt  Hepsy  greets  her  sailor  boy." 

Smith  appreciated  the  suggestion  and  sailed  by  the 


io  Smith   Brunt 

dock  safely  out  of  ear  shot.  The  creek  served  as  the 
inner  harbour  of  Bayhampton  and  now  held  most  of  the 
village  fleet  in  preparation  for  the  approaching  storm. 
Thither  the  victor  had  preceded  them.  As  soon  as 
they  had  made  everything  snug  for  the  night,  Carman 
Hawkins  hastened  off  to  get  his  lemons  and  reach 
home  ahead  of  his  aunt,  while  Smith  Brunt  joined  his 
rival  and  congratulated  him  on  the  victory.  This  task 
was  rendered  rather  hard  by  the  remark,- 

"  I  suppose  you  would  have  won,  wouldn't  you,  if 
you  hadn't  broken  down  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  won't  say  that,"  replied  Smith,  with  a  gulp  ; 
"  I  lost  because  I  finished  last.  Of  course  I  would  like 
to  try  it  again. " 

Then  the  two  walked  home  together  over  the 
meadows.  They  formed  a  decided  contrast.  Let  me 
present  the  tall  one  first,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Herbert 
de  Voe.  A  youth  of  nineteen,  but  so  well-grown  that 
he  seemed  older,  particularly  in  that  day  when  all  men 
shaved  clean.  It  is  often  said  that  beauty  counts  for 
nothing  in  a  man  ;  but  the  statement  is  usually  made 
either  by  men  who  feel  the  lack  of  that  gift,  or  by  those 
who  still  more  keenly  feel  the  possession  of  it  and  con 
sider  that  modesty  compels  the  sentiment.  As  a  mat 
ter  of  fact,  is  not  his  personal  appearance  half  the 
power  of  many  a  ruler,  and  the  insurance  of  many  a 
scamp  ?  When  your  handsome  man  gets  drunk  or 
breaks  all  the  canons  of  morality,  he  is  but  a  wild  young 
blade  and  a  dozen  lovely  girls  stand  ready  to  reclaim 
him ;  whereas  an  ugly  man  who  does  the  same  things  is 
pronounced  a  disgusting  brute.  Men  are  nearly  as 
susceptible  as  women  to  the  spell.  Of  two  candidates 
they  will  usually  vote  for  the  better  looking.  Unless 
the  poverty  of  one  litigant  greatly  preponderate,  the 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  n 

jury  will  follow  the  handsomer  of  counsel.  As  for 
soldiers,  the  power  of  the  beau  sabreur  is  proverbial, 
while  an  unimposing  general  must  be  a  genius  indeed 
to  gain  the  enthusiasm  of  his  troops.  Query — very 
timid  query — would  even  the  Father  of  his  Country 
have  been  quite  so  beloved  a  parent  had  he  not  carried 
such  a  noble  head  high  above  those  of  ordinary  patri 
ots?  Heroism  and  devotion  surely  show  all  the  better 
for  being  six  straight  feet  in  height.  Herbert  de  Voe 
had  this  gift  of  nature  to  a  remarkable  degree.  His 
tall,  strong  figure  was  surmounted  by  a  face  of  nearly 
perfect  features.  People  would  look  after  him  as  he 
passed.  Yet  among  men  at  least  he  had  little  magnet 
ism,  for  the  effect  of  his  beauty  was  marred  by  his 
manners.  That  is  something  for  which  we  of  the 
rougher  sex  care  even  more  than  for  good  looks.  A 
disagreeable  bow  will  spoil  all  the  excellent  impression 
of  a  straight  nose.  Young  de  Voe  was  clever  as  well 
as  handsome,  but  had  had  the  misfortune  to  succeed 
in  making  women  laugh  by  ill-natured  remarks  about 
other  people,  and  so  his  wit  had  become  mere  ridicule. 
Besides  this  he  had  just  grown  up,  and  realized  that 
fact  constantly.  Like  many  boys,  he  wanted  to  be 
considered  "  a  man  of  the  world,"  and  strove  to 
present  the  part  by  parading  the  vices.  Even  at 
that  time  youth  was  beset,  as  it  is  now,  with  novels 
wherein  a  silly  rake  or  worse  character  becomes 
a  hero  by  means  of  his  one  good  quality,  for  the  exhi 
bition  of  which  he  is  sure  to  have  an  opportunity  in  or 
before  the  last  chapter.  Wondrous  how  that  solitary 
virtue  shines,  when  set  in  sufficient  vice.  Frequently, 
too,  it  is  merely  the  omission  of  cowardice  from  the 
hero's  catalogue  of  faults.  Such  stories  were  fewer 
then,  it  is  true,  but  numerous  enough  quite,  and  the 


!2  Smith   Brunt. 

comedies  of  that  day  were  generally  calculated  to  dis 
tort  the  perception  of  any  young  man.  Herbert  de  Voe 
had  given  eager  attention  to  both,  and  had  formed  his 
ideas  accordingly  as  to  what  a  lad  of  spirit  should  be. 
Moreover,  his  parents  had  never  attempted  to  counter 
act  these  notions,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  rather 
encouraged  them.  Old  Mr.  de  Voe,  a  most  respectable 
merchant,  who  had  had  neither  time  nor  money  to 
waste  in  his  youth,  used  to  chuckle  knowingly,  and  de 
clare  that  all  the  de  Voes  were  wild  as  young  men.  He 
considered  that  a  proof  of  high  blood.  Mrs.  de  Voe 
spoiled  the  boy  and  called  it  loving  him.  They  had 
never  punished  Herbert  when  a  child  for  fear  of  tam 
ing  his  will.  The  old  man  had  recently  died  in  England 
where  his  business  had  kept  him  a  great  deal  and  where 
his  son  had  been  educated.  Herbert  had  then  come 
home  with  his  mother,  and  amused  himself  as  well  as 
he  could  in  New  York,  which  small  town,  however,  he 
found  rather  limited  for  his  talents  and  tastes.  Just 
at  this  time  he  was  visiting  his  uncle  in  Bayhampton, 
one  Mr.  Henry  Lawrence,  of  whom  more  hereafter. 

And  now  the  other  lad,  Smith  Brunt.  Of  his  appear 
ance  there  is  not  much  to  be  said,  for  indeed,  there 
was  nothing  remarkable  about  it.  In  his  native  phrase 
he  was  "  homely— not  so  homely  that  he  hurt  to  look 
at,  but  just  plain  lookin'."  Yet  his  was  the  sort  of  face 
that  is  rather  comfortable  to  see  every  day.  Oatmeal 
is  not  so  epicurean  a  dish  as  terrapin  ;  yet  oatmeal  may 
be  eaten  with  satisfaction  every  morning  for  a  lifetime, 
whereas  a  daily  diet  of  terrapin  would  pall  very  soon. 
Smith  Brunt's  face  had  the  character  of  oatmeal. 
His  eyes,  I  believe,  were  gray  or  light  blue,  (I  am  not 
sure  which),  and  not  at  all  bright  ;  and  his  hair — well, 
it  was  an  ordinary  hair  color.  At  this  time  he  was  but 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  13 

sixteen  years  old  and  rather  small  and  slight  for  his 
age.  Altogether,  he  would  have  been  a  very  common 
place  person  for  a  hero,  I  fear — but  please  remember 
that  he  is  not  a  hero.  He  was  a  quiet  youngster,  al 
most  solemn,  which  may  have  come  from  living  in  our 
level,  well-balanced  scenery,  alone  with  his  father,  his 
favorite  companion.  His  mother  had  died  when  he  was 
a  baby.  The  only  pastimes  he  knew  were  those 
afforded  by  nature  ;  the  bay,  the  meadows  and  the 
beach  were  his  play-grounds,  and  his  playmates  the 
boats  and  the  boys  of  Bayhampton.  He  was  liked  by 
the  latter  and  indeed  throughout  the  village,  having 
never  given  needless  pain  to  any  human  being.  All 
ideas  of  the  world  beyond  our  sand-bar  he  had 
formed  from  his  father's  library,  where  he  had  found 
books  very  different,  though  some  of  them,  alas, 
hardly  more  accurate  than  those  affected  by  Herbert 
de  Voe.  He  used  to  pore  over  Percy's  Reliques,  The 
Books  of  the  Round  Table,  The  Tales  of  the  Paladins,  the 
recently  published  Log  of  Captain  Cook  and  Hakluyt's 
Voyages.  His  father  and  the  minister  had  drilled  into 
him  a  little  mathematics  and  enough  Latin  to  pass 
among  gentlemen,  more,  indeed,  than  is  called  for  in 
these  days  when  one  meets  Harvard  men  who  cannot 
read  their  own  sheepskins  and  know  hardly  more  of 
the  classics  than  does  a  graduate  of  Somebody's  Busi 
ness  Institute.  Beyond  that  his  education  was  very 
simple,  being  nearly  covered  by  the  Bible,  the  precept 
not  to  shoot  birds  sitting  or  out  of  season,  and  the  fur 
ther  maxim  to  stick  to  a  race  till  he  crossed  the  line. 
Why  he  was  christened  Smith,  I  do  not  know.  Perhaps 
he  was  related  to  the  Bull  Smiths  to  Smithtown,  whose 
founder,  according  to  the  annals  of  the  county,  rivaled 
the  wit  of  Dido.  For,  having  contracted  with  the 


14  Smith   Brunt. 

aboriginal  proprietor  for  as  much  land  as  a  bull  could 
circumnavigate  in  a  day,  that  early  settler  trained  an 
active  calf,  and,  on  the  day  set  for  passing  title,  gal 
loped  his  horned  steed  around  the  whole  of  Smithtown, 
whence  now  come  very  many  Smiths.  Or,  perhaps  in 
his  veins  ran  the  blood  of  "  Tangier,"  the  Smith  to 
Smith's  Point  and  the  great  manor  of  St.  George,  who 
rose  in  his  adventurous  career  from  Military  Governor 
of  Tangiers  to  Chief  Justice  of  New  York.  It  does  not 
follow  from  Smith  Brunt's  name,  however,  that  he  was 
related  to  either  of  these  great  families,  for  in  Suffolk 
County  when  parents  are  in  doubt  as  to  naming  a 
child,  they  christen  him  Smith — and  what  name  could 
be  more  Christian  ? 

In  an  English  novel  the  hero  is  usually  introduced 
through  an  ancestor  who  figures  in  the  Bayeux  tapes 
try  and  who  on  Hasting's  Field  carved  out  the  family 
acres  about  which  the  hero  has  so  much  difficulty  be 
fore  he  gets  through  the  book.  Such  ancestor  is  always 
given  a  certain  amount  of  credit  for  the  hero's  cour 
age,  nose  and  other  good  points.  We  good  Yankees, 
of  course,  laugh  very  heartily  at  that  sort  of  thing — at 
least  we  do  so  until  we  discover  our  own  ancestors  and 
become  Sons  of  Daughters  of  something-or-other. 
In  reality  we  observe  as  carefully  as  any  other  people, 
the  fifth  commandment  in  it's  modern  form  :  "  Honour 
thy  fore-fathers  and  thy  fore-mothers  that  thy  days 
may  be  shown  to  have  been  long  in  the  land  that  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
our  genealogical  societies  will  some  day  push  their 
researches  back  to  Noah,  so  that  we  may  all  come  in 
as  Mariners  of  the  Ark.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  treat 
with  aught  but  respect  this  filial  reverence.  I  can 
imagine  nothing  more  becoming  in  one's  descendants. 


Introductory,  as   Usual.  15 

Therefore,  out  of  deference  to  the  sentiment  and  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  may  be  interested  in  tracing 
hereditary  qualities,  I  will  state,  so  far  as  1  have  been 
able  to  learn  them,  the  antecedents  of  Smith  Brunt, 
which  being  a  short  and  simple  history,  will  be  finished 
by  the  time  that  young  gentleman  reaches  home. 

The  first  Brunt  was  Dirk  Brunt,  who  appears  first  as 
a  soldier  of  fortuae  in  the  Netherlands.  After  that  he 
followed  the  sea  with  Tromp  and  Ruyter,  and  did  a 
little  on  his  own  account  under  a  letter-of-marque. 
After  all  sorts  of  bad  luck,  he  finally  blew  into  New 
Amsterdam  during  the  reign  of  the  last  of  the  Dutch 
governors.  The  hard-headed  Peter  was  a  chief  after 
the  sturdy  heart  of  Dirk  Brunt,  and  the  wandering 
sailor  made  fast  to  Stuyvesant,  bow  and  stern.  When 
the  English  appeared  in  the  bay,  Dirk  was  the  only 
man  in  the  colony  who  stood  by  the  governor,  and 
loyal  and  cheerful  to  the  last  suggested  that  Peter 
should  serve  one  gun  against  the  English  fleet,  while 
he  would  turn  the  other  on  the  mutinous  town  and 
rake  Manhattan  Island  fore  and  aft — why  not  ?  When 
at  last  the  flag  was  hauled  down  and  Stuyvesant 
stumped  out  of  town  and  history  on  his  wooden  leg, 
leaving  behind  him  a  trail  of  sulphurous  Dutch,  Brunt 
accompanied  his  beloved  leader  and  assisted  him  with 
all  the  apt  words  imported  into  the  Low  Countries  by 
the  various  armies  of  Europe  and  all  he  had  learned  at 
sea,  a  very  extensive  collection.  Having  thus  relieved 
his  breast  he  shook  the  dust  of  Manhattan  from  his 
feet  and  went  far  out  on  the  Long  Island  among  his 
old  enemies,  the  English,  as  far  as  the  East  Riding, 
which  is  now  the  County  of  Suffolk.  The  Yankees,  he 
declared,  were  better  than  colony  Dutchmen,  degener 
ate  sons  of  stout  Lowland  sires,  and  he  would  live 


16  Smith  Brunt. 

among  men  who  were  loyal  to  their  king  and  father 
land.  Before  he  died  the  news  came  over  the  water 
that  the  loyal  English  had  turned  out  their  king  (the 
fifth  time)  and  had  obtained  a  new  one  from  Holland. 

The  politics  of  the  Old  World,  however,  made  little 
disturbance  on  the  shores  of  the  Great  South  Bay, 
more  fortunate  in  that  respect  than  the  frontier  settle 
ments,  where  cabins  were  burned  and  women  and  chil 
dren  were  massacred  whenever  a  royal  family  fell  to 
quarrelling  in  Europe.  Dirk  Brunt  spent  the  rest  of 
his  days  in  quiet.  He  married  and  found  scope  for  all 
his  dogged  valor  in  scratching  up  a  living  for  his  family 
out  of  the  Long  Island  sand.  His  children,  of  course, 
could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  kindred  and 
absorbing  race  about  them,  and  his  grand-children 
became  members  of  it.  They  also  worked  pluckily  and 
amphibiously  with  spade  and  clam  rake,  and  some  of 
them  tried  back  to  the  sea,  where,  with  equally  patient 
industry,  they  fought  the  king's  enemies  in  time  of 
war,  and  in  time  of  peace  his  revenue  officers — at  least 
such  is  the  rumor.  That  voluminous  historian  "  they 
do  say  "  is  always  more  picturesque  than  accurate,  but 
undoubtedly  the  wild  beach  hills  offered  opportunities 
hardly  to  be  neglected  by  energetic  privateersman  in 
times  of  business  depression,  and  the  narrow  inlets 
were  very  tempting  openings  for  young  men  in  those 
days  of  high  tariff.  At  any  rate,  the  Brunts  in  one 
way  or  another  built  up  a  very  fair  estate,  a  large  one 
indeed  for  the  lean  South  Side.  The  great  grandson 
of  Dirk  was  able  to  send  his  son  Robert  to  college  and 
afterwards  to  buy  him  a  company  in  a  good  regiment. 
At  that  time  his  Britannic  Majesty's  commission  was 
a  marketable  commodity. 

A  very  expensive  purchase  poor  Captain   Bob  found 


«    Introductory,  as   Usual.  17 

it,  for  not  long  after  he  had  donned  his  uniform  came 
the  Revolution.  Robert  Brunt  was  not  a  man  to  dis 
cuss  for  one  moment  where  his  allegiance  was  due  when 
he  wore  the  king's  clothes  and  had  sworn  the  king's 
oath.  Perhaps  his  fate  was  influenced  by  the  inherited 
faculty  of  getting  on  the  losing  side.  The  reward  of 
his  simple  ideas  was  the  confiscation  of  all  his  property 
by  the  new  born  State  of  New  York.  At  the  end  of 
the  struggle  he  gave  back  to  the  king  the  only  thing 
he  had  left,  his  commission  ;  for  he  reasoned  that  by 
the  acknowledgement  of  our  independence  every 
American  was  absolved  from  his  former  allegiance,  and 
being  no  longer  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  he  felt  free  to 
resign.  Besides,  in  time  of  peace  he  could  no  longer 
afford  the  expenses  of  his  regiment,  so  he  sold  his  com 
pany  and,  supposing  himself  shut  out  from  home, 
wandered  abroad  for  five  or  six  years,  earning  a  pre 
carious  living  as  soldier,  sailor,  pedagogue,  or  by  any 
other  occupation  that  came  in  his  course.  He  was  of 
too  fine  a  mould,  however,  to  be  anything  but  miser 
able  in  the  position  of  an  adventurer  without  a  coun 
try.  At  last  in  desperation  he  determined  to  return  to 
the  land  of  his  youth,  and  if  his  old  friends  shunned  him, 
to  go  to  some  part  of  the  country  where  he  was 
unknown  and  there  start  over  again  in  life  under  the 
new  sovereignty.  There  was  also  just  the  glimmer  of 
a  hope  that  a  certain  person,  whom  he  longed  to  see 
again,  might  not  avoid  him  though  every  one  else  did. 
When  the  wanderer  got  to  Bayhampton  he  found,  as 
many  another  man  has  done,  that  the  hatred  of  him 
existed  only  in  his  own  imagination.  Every  man, 
woman  and  child  old  enough  to  remember  him 
welcomed  him  home  with  delight,  and  most  particu 
larly  pleased  was  the  certain  person.  Moreover, 


i8  Smith  Brunt.  + 

the  poverty  meted  out  to  the  Tories  as  chastisement 
for  their  loyalty,  had  in  Captain  Brunt's  case  been 
partially  averted.  His  best  friend,  Henry  Lawrence, 
throughout  the  war  had  fought  against  him  in  the  field 
and  in  his  behalf  at  home,  very  vigorously  in  both 
cases,  for  this  same  Lawrence  was  a  cavalry  officer, 
stout  of  body,  word  and  deed.  When  the  lands  of  Tory 
Brunt  were  sold  by  the  Commissioners,  they  were 
bought  by  Lawrence  at  a  low  price  (it  would  have 
been  very  inadvisable  for  anyone  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Bayhampton  to  have  forced  the  bidding)  and  on  the 
return  of  the  original  owner,  were  promptly  recon- 
veyed  to  him  on  terms  as  generous  as  he  would  accept. 
Colonel  Lawrence  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in 
the  adjoining  County  of  Queens,  where  grow  Law 
rences  and  horses,  but  had  inherited  from  his  mother 
one  of  the  great  patents  of  Suffolk,  and,  after  the  war, 
had  settled  down  next  to  the  old  Brunt  place  in  Bay 
hampton.  He  became  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  an  office 
in  those  days  always  honoured  and  kept  in  honour  as 
it  should  be,  but  nowadays  too  seldom  is.  The  broad- 
shouldered  cavalry  leader  in  time  became  merged  in 
the  portly  squire.  The  fondness  for  military  titles 
prevalent  in  certain  parts  of  this  [hitherto]  peaceful 
commercial  nation,  has  never  obtained  to  any  extent 
on  Long  Island.  But  though  we  be  singularly  free  of 
colonels,  we  do  love  the  nautical  equivalent.  Whoso 
ever  has  been  master  of  any  craft  from  a  clipper  ship  to 
a  catboat,  if  he  be  well-esteemed,  receives  in  time  the 
brevet  of  "  Captain."  Therefore,  although  the 
retired  colonel  was  now  called  "  Squire,"  or  by  the 
purely  social  title  of  "Boss,"  Robert  Brunt  on  the 
other  hand,  was  continued  in  his  former  title,  because 
though  a  soldier  he  was  still  a  captain.  Had  he  risen 


Introductory,   as   Usual.  19 

to  major  he  would  have  lost  it  all.  Boss  Hen  and  Cap 
tain  Bob  were  far  known  and  beloved,  and  spent  the 
afternoon  of  their  lives  mostly  in  each  others  company, 
though  two  honest  gentlemen  of  more  opposite 
manners  and  minds  would  be  hard  to  find. 

And  so  it  happened  that  now,  more  than  twenty  years 
after  the  war,  young  Smith  Brunt  came  home  at  evening 
to  the  birth-place  of  his  father,  and  found  that  tall  hand 
some  gentleman  on  the  porch  still  at  battle  with  Henry 
Lawrence — on  this  occasion  as  to  the  amount  of  milk 
given  by  their  respective  cows.  The  retired  warriors 
were  becoming  fierce  over  this  question,  much  to  the 
amusement  of  Mrs.  Lawrence,  when  the  boys  arrived. 

"  Having  thrashed  our  boat,  Herbert,"  said  Captain 
Brunt,  on  hearing  the  result  of  the  race,  "You  shall 
consume  the  spoils  of  the  conquered.  Your  uncle  has 
agreed  to  remain  here  for  tea  in  order  to  have  real 
cream." 

"  For  no  such  reason,"  retorted  the  squire,  "  I  am 
going  to  stay  here  to  beat  you  this  evening  at  chess." 

"  Well,  any  reason  will  do  for  a  good  act.  You  boys 
go  change  your  wet  clothes  at  once." 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  WRECK  OF  THE  IROQUOIS. 

A17HEN  the  portly  Squire  Lawrence  started  for 
*  *  home  that  evening,  the  wind  blew  off  his  hat. 
Then  it  blew  out  his  lantern  and  made  him  say  things 
for  which,  as  a  magistrate,  he  should  have  fined  him 
self.  The  storm  had  struck  in,  leaping  the  beach  hills 
and  making  the  bay  roar  in  the  darkness.  Smith  went 
to  bed  and  listened  to  the  gale  with  a  delightful  feeling 
born  of  the  knowledge  that  his  boat  was  safe  in  the 
creek.  The  harder  it  blew,  and  the  more  it  rained,  the 
more  snipe  there  would  be  in  the  meadows.  He  could 
hear  across  the  bay  the  surf  accompanying  in  a  tre 
mendous  bass  the  song  of  the  southeaster.  Then  he 
dropped  asleep,  and  before  long  had  a  large  bunch  of 
creekers  hovering  right  over  his  stool.  Somehow — 
as  such  things  happen  in  dreams — he  fired  both  barrels 
of  his  gun  at  once  and  the  report  woke  him.  He  re 
alized  that  the  house  was  shaking  more  than  usual  and 
at  once  thought  of  his  boat  ;  then  he  remembered  the 
creek,  chuckled  happily,  and  turned  over  to  have  an 
other  try  at  the  snipe  in  dreamland.  Before  falling 
asleep  again  he  heard  a  step,  and  his  father  came  in 
with  a  candle. 

"  Smith,  boy,  can  you  sleep  in  this  gale  ?"  he  asked. 
"  I  thought  I  heard  a  gun  just  now.  Hark!  " 

Smith  sat  up  in  bed,  now  wide  awake,  and  both  lis 
tened  carefully,  with  ears  used  to  every  sound  of  the 
shore.  There  was  nothing  but  wind  and  sea. 

20 


The  Wreck.  21 

11  Perhaps  it  was  only  muffins  and  fifty  years,"  Cap 
tain  Brunt  admitted,  after  a  few  moments,  "  but  I  have 
recollections  of  this  beach  that  keep  me  from  sleeping 
as  you  do,  youngster,  on  nights  like  this,  and  I  could 
almost  swear — There  !  " 

The  wind  had  drawn  its  breath  for  a  moment,  and 
through  the  steady  bellow  of  the  surf  came  a  short  and 
different  note.  Smith  leaped  from  his  bed. 

"  No  imagination  about  that  father.  Look  !  "  and 
he  pointed  out  of  the  window,  "  there  goes  a  rocket." 

A  few  minutes  later  both  were  out  in  the  hurricane, 
almost  shoving  their  way  to  the  creek. 

"I  don't  know  whether  we  can  do  it,"  shouted  Smith 
in  a  whisper  as  they  went.  "  The  Dowicher  couldn't  go 
across  the  bay  to-night.  Neither  could  the  Broadbill. 
Raynor  Terry's  sloop  might  do  it  all  right,  and  that  old 
tub  of  Hen  Ryder's  ought  to  live  in  anything,  if  she  is 
not  lame  somewhere." 

"We  must  get  over  somehow,  if  we  have  to  swim," 
replied  his  father.  "  Though  Heaven  knows  we  can 
do  nothing  in  that  surf,  except  to  be  on  the  beach  and 
ready  for  the  first  chance." 

Raynor  Terry,  the  owner  of  the  sloop,  was  at  the 
creek  when  they  arrived,  and  "  calculated  to  go  acrost 
if  the  rags  didn't  blow  off  the  sticks."  He  had  a  full 
crew  at  work  preparing  to  demonstrate  his  calculation. 
Ryder's  hulking  cat-boat  was  being  close  reefed  also, 
and  half  the  village  was  at  the  shore.  Just  as  they 
were  ready  to  haul  out,  a  voice  was  heard  that  pierced 
the  tempest  through  and  through. 

"  Now  you,  Carm,  jump  in  there  and  help.  You'd  be 
ready  enough  to  go  gunnin'  in  any  weather."  A  most 
unmerited  insinuation,  for  Carman  Hawkins  showed  no 
reluctance  in  lending  a  hand. 


22  Smith   Brunt. 

"  Hallo,  Miss  Carman,"  shouced  Captain  Brunt. 
"What  are  you  doing  here?  This  isn't  good  for  rheu 
matism." 

"  There's  worse  things  than  rheumatics,  Cap'n  Bob. 
I'm  goin'  over  to  the  beach  with  the  rest  of  you." 

"  Why,  Miss  Hepsy,  you  ain't  a'  thinkin'  of  goin' 
acrost,  be  you  ?"  exclaimed  Terry. 

"  Yes,  yes.  There  may  be  women-folks  aboard  o' 
that  ship.  You  'tend  to  your  business,  Raynor  Terry, 
and  I'll  take  care  o'  myself,"  and  Aunt  Hepsy  clam 
bered  aboard  the  sloop  and  stovv^  herself  with  a  large 
basket  under  an  oilskin. 

"  Git  on  here,  now,  all  of  you,  and  haul  her  out," 
shouted  Raynor,  as  he  ran  the  better  end  of  his  cable 
out  on  the  bank  of  the  creek. 

"All  ready  here  too,"  called  Squire  Lawrence  from 
Ryder's  boat  astern.  All  hands  divided  in  two  crews, 
strung  along  on  the  cables,  and  hauled  the  boats  to 
the  mouth  of  the  creek.  It  was  early  morning  then, 
but  the  roof  of  the  cyclone  shut  out  the  first  light  and 
kept  it  still  pitch  dark,  as  the  two  boats,  with  throats 
lashed  down,  got  away  under  the  peaks  of  their  main 
sails.  Smith  Brunt  and  his  father  were  ahead  in  Ray 
nor  Terry's  sloop. 

"  I'm  glad  you  brought  Carm  along,  Miss  Hepsy," 
remarked  the  skipper,  "  'cause  if  it  don't  lighten  up  he 
can  smell  the  way  through  Old  Duck  Dreen.  Some- 
where's  near  Benchogue  Hill  is  where  I  made  them 
guns.  I  heard  another  a  while  ago.  Listen  now  every 
body." 

It  was  hard  to  hear  anything  through  a  sou'west  hat 
tied  down  over  the  ears,  and  half  the  bay  apparently 
coming  over  one's  head  at  every  jump  to  windward. 
By  and  by,  however,  they  did  hear  a  gun,  and  then 


The  Wreck.  23 

another,  and  a  third  in  rapid  succession, — heavy 
guns. 

"Good  God!"  suddenly  exclaimed  Captain  Brunt. 
"  It's  a  man-o'-war  !  " 

There  was  a  hush  for  a  minute. 

"  That's  what  it  is,"  said  one  of  the  Smiths  slowly. 
"And  that  means  maybe  five  hundred  souls." 

"Well,  anyhow,"  added  one  of  the  Hawkinses, 
"  there's  no  women-folks  aboard  of  her." 

"  Ah,"  said  Miss  Carman  in  a  tone  rather  less  stri 
dent  than  usual,  "  but  their  women-folks  is  all  a-waitin' 
at  home.  Wives  and  mothers — and, — and,  some  maybe 
as  are  waitin'  to  be  wives  and  mothers." 

Then  no  one  said  anything  for  a  long  time.  The 
older  people  in  Bayhampton  remembered  when  Miss 
Carman's  nose  had  been  less  sharp  and  her  voice  softer, 
and  how  a  certain  tall  young  fisherman  had  sailed 
away  over  Fire  Island  bar  in  the  same  schooner  with 
Carman  Hawkins'  mother  and  father,  forever. 

By  the  time  they  had  beaten  half  way  across  the  bay, 
it  had  grown  light  enough  to  see  the  beach  hills  dis 
tinctly  and  to  see  above  them  also  the  three  housed  top 
gallant  masts  of  a  ship.  There  was  hope  in  that  sight, 
too,  for  the  spars  were  still  tossing  in  line  with  the 
wind  ;  but  oh,  how  close  in  !  She  lay  near  the  hut 
where  the  whale  boats  were.  Bayhampton,  like  every 
Southside  village  at  that  time,  kept  surf  boats  on  the 
beach  ready  to  be  launched  for  whales,  bluefish  or  cast 
aways,  as  the  case  might  be.  But  another  sight  pre 
cluded  all  hope  of  usingthe  boats  for  some  time  to  come 
— that  was  the  white  that  showed  between  the  hills  and 
at  times  over  them. 

Through  the  smooth  shoal  water  in  the  lee  of  the 
beach,  the  two  battered  boats  dashed  as  though  released 


24  Smith  Brunt. 

from  a  drag,  and  at  last  rounded  up  to  the  rough 
fisherman's  dock  on  the  bay  side.  Then,  taking  coils 
of  rope  and  Miss  Carman's  basket,  they  all  fought  their 
way  over  to  the  surf  shore. 

There  she  lay,  just  clear  of  the  outer  bar,  a  frigate, 
as  Captain  Brunt  had  guessed.  The  anchors  seemed 
to  be  holding,  but  she  was  tugging  at  them  with  fear 
ful  force.  In  those  days  there  were  no  chain  cables, 
and  all  that  held  her  were  two  ropes  taut  as  fiddle 
strings.  The  seas  raised  her  like  a  tower;  then  down 
would  plunge  her  head,  and  her  stern  going  high  showed 
what  may  have  caused  the  peril, — a  gash  of  raw  wood 
where  the  rudder  had  been. 

As  the  light  increased  and  their  eyes  grew  accus 
tomed  to  the  driving  spray,  they  could  see  everything 
on  the  spar  deck.  Every  time  her  bow  rose,  a  cata 
ract  from  the  forecastle  poured  into  the  waist.  On 
the  quarter  deck  were  several  officers,  and  others 
stood  among  the  crew  in  the  gangways.  The  marines 
were  drawn  up  together  in  a  solid  body,  wonderfully 
steady  on  such  a  tossing  deck.  No  guns  were  being 
fired  now.  An  officer  put  a  trumpet  to  his  lips  ;  then 
a  man  struggled  forward  with  an  axe  toward  the  fore 
mast.  As  he  planted  himself  and  swung  the  axe,  he 
was  knocked  over  by  a  sea  and  rolled  into  the  bulwarks, 
where  he  lay  apparently  hurt.  An  officer  seized  the  axe 
and  made  the  same  attempt,  but  he  too  was  swept 
across  the  deck.  Then  they  saw  another  officer,  prob 
ably  the  captain  (though  his  epaulettes  were  concealed 
by  a  pea  jacket),  start  down  the  ladder  from  the  quarter 
deck,  evidently  intending  to  undertake  the  task  himself. 
Before  he  could  get  forward,  however,  a  third  volun 
teer  had  appeared.  Axe  in  hand,  the  new  champion 
made  his  way  to  the  mast  and  then  did  a  somewhat 


The  Wreck.  25 

remarkable  thing.  Holding  to  the  mast  rail  with  one 
hand,  he  handled  the  axe  as  though  it  had  been  a 
hatchet.  Three  times  he  swung  it  down  and  twice 
horizontally,  and  the  blows  could  be  heard  above  the 
storm.  A  sea  piled  on  him  to  the  shoulders,  but  failed 
to  break  his  grip.  A  few  more  strokes  brought  down 
the  mast.  It  went  overboard  to  port,  the  starboard 
rigging  having  been  cut.  Then  the  axeman  got  rid  of 
the  mainmast  as  well,  and  both  spars  were  cut  clear  and 
came  ashore.  The  incident  drew  attention  to  the  man. 
They  watched  him  lay  aside  the  axe  and  take  a  bundle 
from  a  shipmate.  Then  he  leaned  against  a  gun  with 
the  bundle  in  his  arms,  and  they  saw  that  he  stood  a 
full  head  taller  than  his  mates. 

Relieved  of  her  two  forward  masts  the  vessel  rode 
more  easily  for  a  time  ;  but  the  wind  devil  seemed  to 
work  all  the  harder  and  again  strained  fearfully  on 
those  two  hempen  cords.  Those  on  shore  breathed  in 
time  with  the  motion  of  the  ship,  drawing  their  breath 
all  together  as  her  bow  rose,  holding  it  while  the  cables 
stretched,  and  sighing  it  out  as  she  came  down  again. 
How  long  they  watched  her  no  one  could  have  told 
until  eight  bells  sounded. 

Then  occurred  a  bit  of  routine.  Up  to  that  mo 
ment  the  nationality  of  the  frigate  had  not  appeared  , 
but  as  the  bell  struck,  a  ball  ran  up  to  the  peak  and 
burst  out  into  the  "  Gridiron."  At  the  same  moment 
came  faintly  on  the  gale  the  strains  of  a  fife  playing 
"  Yankee  Doodle."  Was  that  ridiculous  ?  Our  magnifi 
cent  anthem,  the  "  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  of  which  few 
of  us  know  the  words  and  which  fewer  can  sing,  was  not 
born  then,  and  all  they  had  was  that  old  reel.  But  to 
that  reel,  a  generation  then  alive,  indeed  some  of  the 
men  on  that  beach,  had  marched  from  Boston  to  York- 


26  Smith   Brunt. 

town  leaving  red  foot-prints.  For  seven  years  they  had 
seen  men  die  to  it.  Probably  this  was  not  the  first 
time  that  these  very  sailors  had  faced  death  with  that 
rollicking  tune  in  their  ears.  They  may  have  manned 
their  guns  to  it  in  the  recent  war  with  France,  and 
played  it  in  the  Mediterranean  where  lately  the  young 
navy  had  set  even  Nelson  wondering  what  manner  of 
men  these  western  sailors  were. 

A  great  shout  from  the  beach  hailed  the  ensign  and 
then  two  cheers — two,  for  the  third  changed  into  a  cry 
of  horror.  One  of  the  cables  had  parted  !  The  frigate 
sheered  with  a  rush  and  on  the  next  sea  snapped  the 
other  cable.  For  a  moment  she  seemed  to  pause,  and 
reared  as  though  resisting  and  pressed  over  backwards  ; 
then  rushed  astern  diagonally  for  the  bar. 

Her  stern  struck  with  a  jar,  the  bow  swung  around, 
and  she  lay  side  to  the  sea,  nearly  on  her  beam  ends 
about  three  hundred  yards  from  shore.  As  a  wounded 
duck,  dying  on  the  sand,  again  and  again  throws  back 
his  head  for  air,  so  did  the  dying  ship  raise  her  bow 
convulsively  with  each  sea,  less  and  less  each  time,  as 
she  pounded  up  on  the  bar. 

Then  for  the  first  time  Smith  Brunt  saw  death.  A 
green  sea  leaped  over  the  side,  washed  the  quarter 
deck  bare  and  rent  a  great  gap  through  the  steady 
rank  of  marines. 

"  Down  to  the  surf  !  "  shouted  Mr.  Lawrence,  leading 
the  way,  and  every  man  on  the  hills  rushed  down  to 
the  edge  of  the  water  and  holding  hands  peered  eag 
erly  into  the  green  taunting  wall.  Not  one  human  form 
appeared. 

After  that  first  destroying  sea  most  of  the  crew 
took  to  the  rigging  of  the  one  remaining  mast.  A  few 
found  a  hold  and  a  little  shelter  under  the  weather  bul- 


The  Wreck.  27 

warks.  How  long  could  they  hold  on  and  how  long 
would  anything  remain  to  which  to  hold  ? 

"  My  God  !  if  we  could  only  get  a  line  to  them," 
cried  some. 

"  We'd  ought  to  keep  a  little  cannon  over  here  for 
this  sort  of  work,"  remarked  Carman  Hawkins.  "  I 
believe  you  could  shoot  a  line  over  that  ship." 

"That's  a  good  idea,  Carm,"  assented  Mr.  Lawrence. 
"  But  there  is  not  a  howitzer  in  Bayhampton;  and  my 
four  bore  would  not  throw  a  line  half  way  to  her 
against  this  wind." 

All  this  time  Smith  had  been  sitting  very  quiet, 
appalled  at  this  first  horror  of  his  life,  and  feeling  shame 
fully  helpless  as  in  a  nightmare.  At  the  foregoing 
words,  however,  an  idea  came  to  him  like  an  awaken 
ing.  He  went  to  the  whale  boat,  took  from  it  a  coil  of 
heavy  bluefish  line,  made  one  end  fast  round  his  waist, 
then  ran  down  the  beach  and  before  anyone  could  stop 
him,  plunged  into  the  base  of  a  rising  breaker.  A 
great  weight  piled  on  him,  crushing  him  down,  down  ; 
his  ears  sang  and  he  choked,  but  still  struggled  man 
fully, — until  he  was  hauled  out  and  landed  like  a  great 
fish  dripping  and  gasping  on  the  beach. 

"  You  crazy  boy  ;  have  you  lost  your  head  ?  "  was  all 
the  honour  he  achieved.  So  he  had  to  sit  there  in  his 
wet  clothes  and  see  those  men  eaten  by  the  sea. 

It  was  a  deliberate  meal.  On  a  rocky  coast  the  first 
shock  might  have  mercifully  put  an  end  to  it  all  ;.  but 
that  is  not  the  way  of  the  Long  Island  beach.  For 
hours  the  man-o'-warsmen  clung  to  the  wreck  and  were 
taken  off  here  and  there  in  groups,  one,  three,  nine, 
five  and  so  on.  Even  the  gale  seemed  to  weary,  but 
the  sea  kept  on  and  rendered  the  surf  boat  still  a  vain 
ftope.  At  noon  the  mizzen-mast  went,  taking  with  it 


28  Smith   Brunt. 

most  of  those  who  were  left.  Yet  that  brought  the  first 
cheer,  for  the  spar  tore  away  from  its  tangled  rigging 
and  drove  through  the  surf,  bearing  a  half  dozen  ex 
hausted  men  who  were  dragged  out, — the  first  to  be 
saved.  They  told  the  name  of  their  ship,  the  Iroquois^ 
but  were  too  far  gone  to  explain  anything  then,  and 
were  helped  over  to  the  lee  of  the  hills  and  placed 
under  the  charge  of  Miss  Carman.  There  or  four  more 
were  saved  on  other  bits  of  wreckage  as  the  ship  be 
gan  to  break  up  more  rapidly. 

At  last  but  two  remained,  and  one  of  them  was  the 
tall  man  who  had  cut  away  the  masts.  He  had  stripped 
to  the  waist,  but  still  held  his  bundle.  It  seemed 
strange  that  he  should  so  value  his  kit  at  such  a  time. 
He  hugged  it  close  and  held  to  the  quarter  deck  ladder 
as  did  the  other  man.  There  they  were  a  little 
sheltered,  but  every  now  and  then  were  hidden  by  a 
sea  and  must  have  had  strength  far  beyond  ordinary 
men  to  have  held  so  long.  Finally  from  one  heap  of 
water  the  giant  appeared  alone. 

The  last  man  on  the  wreck,  he  stood  like  stubborn 
Ajax  defiant  on  his  rock.  All  the  hope,  all  the  prayers 
of  the  watchers  on  shore,  all  their  terrible  interest 
were  now  concentrated  on  him  alone.  An  hour  passed  ; 
surely  the  sea  abated  a  little.  Yes,  a  good  deal. 

They  tried  to  launch  the  boat  ;  it  was  upset,  Jim 
Howell  broke  his  leg  and  two  men  were  nearly  drowned. 
The  wreck  was  awfully  groaning  and  cracking.  There! 
the  whole  poop  was  stove  and  he  was  gone  ! 

Smith  felt  as  though  that  last  sea  had  torn  out  his 
midriff,  and  he  turned  on  his  face  in  the  sand.  Then 
he  was  roused  by  a  shout.  Looking  up  he  saw  a  head 
above  a  piece  of  wreckage  tossed  about  beyond  the 
breakers.  It  disappeared,  and  again  every  one  peered 


The  Wreck.  29 

into  the  surf  as  they  had  done  in  vain  so  many  times 
that  day. 

"  There  he  is.  Look  !  "  In  the  curving  face  of  a 
breaker  appeared  a  dark  object,  and  there  was  a  mo 
mentary  glimpse  of  an  arm  projecting  from  the  crest  of 
the  wave  and  holding  something  clear  of  the  water. 
Then  came  the  roar,  as  the  breaker  ended  its  rush  and 
doubled  over,  burying  under  its  ruins  the  last  man  as 
the  others  had  been  buried.  But  before  the  whirlpool 
retreated,  there  reared  up  from  the  foam  the  head  and 
torso  of  a  sea-god.  The  apparition  and  the  display  of 
strength  were  almost  startling,  as  the  giant  braced 
himself  a  moment  in  the  shoal  water.  His  great  arms 
swung  round  and  flung  the  precious  bundle  over  the 
surge  into  the  shallow  wash  at  the  very  feet  of  Mr. 
Lawrence.  At  that  instant  the  squire  saw  a  little 
curly  head  protruding  from  the  bundle,  and  before  the 
sea  could  suck  it  back,  threw  himself  on  the  child  as  a 
foot-ball  rusher  drops  on  the  ball. 

Before  the  chain  of  hands  could  reach  him,  the  tall 
man  fell.  At  the  same  moment,  Smith  with  the  line 
still  about  his  body  dove  into  the  under-tow.  He  was 
sucked  down  and  turned  over  and  over  as  he  had  been 
before,  but  tumbled  against  something  and  seized  it  be 
fore  he  felt  the  pull.  This  time  he  was  not  to  be  balked. 
He  wound  both  legs  and  arms  around  the  man,  clung 
like  a  bull  terrier,  and  was  dragged  out  with  his  prize. 

It  was  a  strange  fish  that  he  had  landed.  When  the 
sea  monster  was  hauled  up  unconscious  on  the  dry 
sand,  he  covered  much  more  than  six  feet  of  it  as  he  lay 
on  his  face.  His  only  clothing  was  the  loose  trousers, 
which  in  that  day  denoted  the  sea-faring  man0  His 
grizzled  hair,  in  a  pigtail  of  prodigious  length  served 
with  black  silk,  lay  along  a  great,  brown  back  that  was 


30  Smith   Brunt. 

flat,  lean,  and  hard  as  a  ship's  deck.  On  each  arm, 
among  anchors,  ships  and  other  designs,  was  tattooed 
the  spread  eagle,  an  ornament  almost  universal  among 
our  man-o'-warsmen.  Over  the  broad  right  shoulder, 
and  part  way  down  the  back,  extended  a  scar,  along 
which  was  pricked  in  red  and  blue  the  letters  "  B.  H.  R.," 
and  the  date  "Sept.  23d,  1779."  Each  ear  was  adorned 
with  a  large  silver  ring,  and  in  striking  contrast  to 
these  rude  maritime  ornaments,  a  jewelled  locket  hung 
from  a  fine  gold  chain  around  his  neck. 

All  these  details  the  baymen  observed  as  they  rolled 
the  half  dead  man  on  a  barrel,  and  did  everything  else 
to  him  that  anybody  had  heard  was  a  good  thing  to  do. 
In  the  meantime  Mr.  Lawrence  was  attending  to  his 
own  particular  piece  of  wreckage,  and  fighting  for  its 
possession  with  Miss  Carman.  The  latter  having  as 
sured  her  astonished  eyes  that  it  was  really  a  child 
that  had  come  ashore  from  the  man-o'-war,  promptly 
asserted  her  divine  right  of  sex,  and  took  the  baby  to 
her  own  lap.  What  did  Squire  Hen  or  any  other  man 
know  about  holding  a  child  ?  It  was  a  curly-headed 
boy  of  three  or  four  years  of  age,  and  had  passed  un 
hurt  through  his  strange  and  stormy  landing.  The  lit 
tle  fellow  was  dazed  at  first,  but  in  a  few  minutes  put 
a  fist  in  each  eye  and  delivered  himself  of  a  healthy 
howl  that  rejoiced  the  hearts  of  the  hearers.  Miss 
Carman  at  once  introduced  a  trill  in  the  melody  by 
trotting  the  musician  on  her  knee,  a  motion  that 
women  hold  to  be  comforting  to  a  child,  while  Mr. 
Lawrence  knelt  down  and  chirped  and  twiddled  his  fing 
ers,  which  he  vaguely  felt  to  be  the  proper  behaviour 
under  the  circumstances. 

But  to  the  reviving  giant,  that  wailing   brought  the 
greatest  comfort  and   seemed   to  rekindle  the  light  in 


The  Wreck.  31 

his  eyes.  He  had  been  restored  to  consciousness,  un 
der  Captain  Brunt's  superintendence,  and  rising  to  his 
feet  staggered  to  the  child,  and  laid  his  hand  on  the 
little  curly  yellow  head.  The  baby  looked  up  at  his 
protector,  slid  from  Miss  Carman's  lap,  and  clung  with 
both  his  tiny  hands  to  the  great  brown  one. 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Lawrence. 

"Orrin,  sir,"  answered  the  sailor  in  a  deep  voice. 

"Whose  child  is  this?" 

"  His  mother  and  father  are  dead,"  was  the  some 
what  unsatisfactory  reply. 

There  was  not  the  least  defiance  or  gruffness  in  the 
tone,  but  Mr.  Lawrence,  a  little  nettled,  repeated  his 
question  more  sharply,  when  Captain  Brunt  interrupted. 

"  Why,  do  you  bother  a  half-drowned  man  with 
questions,  Harry  ?  Come,  let  us  get  home  with  those 
we  have  saved  and  do  the  talking  afterwards.  We 
can  do  nothing  more  now  on  this  cursed  beach  for  any 
living  thing.  To-morrow  we  can  come  back  when  the 
sea  has  gone  down,  and  get  whatever  it  will  give  up  to 
us." 

So,  with  the  other  castaways,  they  sailed  home 
again  across  the  bay.  In  spite  of  the  scene  they  had 
witnessed,  they  returned  in  good  cheer  because  of  the 
little  they  had  saved,  like  the  brand  that  is  plucked 
from  the  burning. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHICH  TREATS  OF  THE  CASTAWAYS  AND  OF  A  MR.  LAW 
RENCE,  A  GENTLEMAN  OF  THE  NAVY. 

IT  was  a  month  or  more  before  the  Bayhampton 
Court  of  Inquiry  completed  its  deliberations  on 
the  loss  of  the  Iroquois.  The  sessions  were  held  every 
evening  on  the  porch  of  Captain  Howell's  store,  as  it 
was  too  early  in  the  year  to  sit  around  the  stove.  The 
questions  of  whether  the  frigate  could  have  been  saved 
if  this  or  that  had  been  done,  and  whether  or  not  this 
and  that  had  been  done,  and  if  not,  why  not,  etc.,  were 
at  last  settled  to  some  extent.  But  the  court  failed  to 
make  the  slightest  progress  toward  solving  the  great 
mystery  of  the  wreck,  the  history  of  the  little  boy  and 
his  stalwart  guardian. 

The  other  rescued  sailors  had  been  able  to  throw 
very  little  light  on  the  subject.  According  to  their 
story,  the  Iroquois,  homeward  bound,  had  been 
becalmed  on  the  West  coast  of  Africa,  near  a  group  of 
islands,  two  or  three  days  North  of  the  Line.  From 
one  of  these  islands,  had  come  out  to  the  ship  a  canoe 
containing  the  strange  pair.  The  boatswain  and  car 
penter  both  old  hands  in  the  navy,  had  been  greatly 
excited  at  seeing  the  tall  man,  but  after  a  conversation 
with  him  had  refused  to  give  any  information  and 
would  only  shake  their  heads  and  hint  that  he  had  a 
screw  loose.  It  was  generally  believed  that  they  were 
afraid  of  the  giant,  although  seeming  to  admire  him 
greatly.  He  had  never  given  any  account  of  himself 
32 


A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy.  33 

or  the  child  to  anyone,  except  the  captain,  who  had 
questioned  him  privately  and  had  taken  the  baby  into 
his  cabin.  The  captain  also  must  have  recognized  the 
mysterious  seaman,  and  known  him  well,  for  he  was 
heard  to  call  him  by  his  first  name,  Benjamin,  and 
treated  him  with  great  consideration.  But  neither  the 
captain  nor  the  warrant  officers  could  tell  anything 
now.  That  was  all  that  the  Iroquois's  knew  about  the 
matter.  A  few  days  after  the  wreck  they  went  to  New 
York,  ten  out  of  three  hundred  who  had  left  Africa 
homeward  bound.  Mr.  Lawrence,  as  magistrate,  went 
with  them  to  make  his  report  to  the  proper  authorities. 
Benjamin  Orrin  did  not  go.  He  admitted  having 
served  in  the  navy  at  one  time,  but  claimed  to  have 
finished  his  time  as  a  seaman  long  ago  and  to  have 
been  merely  a  passenger  on  the  Iroquois.  For  this, 
and  possibly  for  better  reasons  he  persuaded  Squire 
Lawrence  to  say  nothing  about  him,  and  remained  in 
Bayhampton  a  cause  of  speculation  for  the  whole 
village.  About  his  early  life  he  talked  freely.  He 
was  a  man  over  fifty  years  of  age  and  a  native  of  the 
wild  and  distant  province  of  Maine.  "I  might  have 
knowed  that,"  corroborated  Captain  John  Hen 
Monsel,  who  had  cruised  down  East.  "  That's  where 
he  learned  to  swing  an  axe  and  where  he  got  his  size. 
They  breed  'em  big  in  them  woods,  now  I  tell  yer." 
He  told  many  tales  of  Paul  Jones  and  the  old  war,  and 
of  the  war  with  France  in  the  West  Indies,  and  of  the 
doings  of  the  navy  on  the  Barbary  coast,  but  never  of 
his  own  experiences,  and  always  interspersed  his  yarns 
with  "  they  say,"  or  "  I  heard  tell."  The  curious  marks 
on  his  shoulder  of  course  drew  upon  him  many  ques 
tions,  to  which  he  always  replied  that  the  letters  B.  H.  R. 
were  the  initials  of  an  old  friend,  and  the  date  and  scar 


34  Smith  Brunt. 

concerned  that  friend's  affairs.  Captain  Brunt  and  the 
minister  happened  once  to  hear  this  explanation  given, 
and  looked  at  each  other  and  laughed.  The  minister 
said  something  about  hiding  light  under  a  bushel,  but 
the  captain  replied  that  it  was  nobody's  business, 
whereat  Orrin  said  gratefully  "  That's  so,  sir,  thank 
you." 

From  the  first  it  was  conceded  that  no  relationship 
existed  between  the  two  castaways,  for  no  resemblance 
between  the  leathern  man-o'-warsman  and  the  blue-eyed, 
yellow-haired  baby  could  be  detected  by  the  keenest 
tea-drinker  in  her  fifteenth  cup.  The  prevailing  theory 
was,  of  course,  piracy.  But  this  was  somewhat  shaken 
by  the  testimony  of  the  other  shipwrecked  sailors,  and 
as  the  odium  could  not  be  proven  only  the  glamour  of 
suspicion  remained  and  made  the  suspect  all  the  more 
interesting.  Your  pirate  in  active  practice  is  certainly 
abominable,  but  retired  he  is  tolerable,  and  when  re 
formed  becomes  immensely  attractive.  The  reticence 
of  the  sailor  enormously  increased  his  reputation. 
Except  by  his  Desdemona,  a  man  is  always  loved  for 
the  dangers  he  has  passed  strictly  in  proportion  to  his 
reluctance  to  talk  about  them. 

Mr.  Lawrence  must  have  been  satisfied  as  to  the 
present  moral  character  of  the  strange  seaman  for  he 
had  been  willing  to  keep  both  him  and  the  boy.  So 
Orrin  remained  in  the  employ  of  the  squire  and  turned 
his  hand  to  everything,  farm  work,  boat  work,  garden 
ing  and  minding  the  baby,  as  only  a  regular  good  deep- 
sea  sailorman  can.  Why  Mr.  Lawrence  did  this  was 
known  to  Captain  Brunt  to  whom  the  stout  squire 
always  came  for  advice  in  all  things. 

"  Truly  he  is  a  strange  thing  of  the  deep,"  Mr.  Law 
rence  had  said  to  his  mentor  on  the  day  after  the  ship- 


A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy.  35 

wreck,  "and  'tis  little  I  can  get  from  him.  I  can  see, 
too,  that  it  would  do  small  good  to  commit  him  for  con 
tempt  and  his  back  would  be  harder  than  any  cat-o'- 
nine-tails.  What  he  does  tell  me,  somehow  I  feel  sure 
is  true.  He  asserts  that  he  is  guardian  of  the  boy 
honestly  and  by  solemn  oath,  though  not  by  law  or 
blood.  Indeed  when  I  asked  if  he  claimed  kin,  he  de 
manded  whether  I  thought  the  child  came  out  of  the 
forecastle,  and  I  had  to  admit  I  did  not.  He  declares 
the  boy  is  born  to  better  things  than  he  can  give  him 
and  says  very  earnestly  and  very  simply  that  a  penni 
less,  unlettered  tar  breeches  can  ill  bring  up  a  flag 
officer,  as  he  means  the  lad  to  be, — and  of  course  he  is 
right — and  it  is  rather  fine  in  him — and  it's  a  pity,  and — 
and  the  long  and  short  of  it  is,  Bob,  that  he  is  heart 
set  for  me  to  adopt  the  boy." 

"  Which  of  course,  Harry,  you  have  no  idea  of  doing  ?" 
said  Captain  Brunt  gravely  except  as  to  the  corners  of 
his  mouth. 

"  Which,  by  gad,  is  just  what  I  believe  I  will  do," 
retorted  the  squire.  "'Zounds  !  sir,  isn't  he  mine  by 
the  wreck  law,  after  a  year  and  a  day,  for  my  allow 
ance  ?  What  am  I  to  do  ?  Send  him  to  the  poor  house 
to  be  a  burden  on  the  county  ?  Turn  him  adrift  in  the 
world  with  this  rough  Sinbad,  to  get  wrecked  again, 
and  by  worse  things  than  the  sea  ?  Oh  Bob,  Bob  !  " 
he  continued  more  quietly,  "  Haven't  I  always  longed 
and  prayed  for  a  son  like  this,  a  son  such  as  I  can 
make  of  this  baby  ?  Hasn't  your  boy  been  the  one 
thing  for  which  I  have  envied,  almost  hated  you  ?  Oh 
yes  I  have — I  mean  it — hated  you  "  (as  Captain  Brunt 
smiled  at  the  idea  of  the  squire's  hating  anything, 
much  less  Brunt  himself).  My  nephew  ?  I  can't  bear 
him,  and  you  know  how  hard  I  have  tried  to  love  him. 


36  Smith  Brunt. 

Now  when  God  sends  me  this  great  gift  from  the  sea, 
washes  it  to  my  very  feet,  would  you  have  me  throw  it 
away  ?  'Twould  be  ungrateful,  Bob  ;  damme  sir,  'twould 
be  downright  wicked." 

"Aye,  Harry,"  answered  his  friend  this  time  all 
gravely,  "  I  knew  how  'twould  be  the  moment  I  saw 
what  you  had  picked  up.  But  take  care,  old  lad,  how 
you  let  your  big  heart  go  out  to  this  foundling.  Sup 
pose  after  you  have  brought  him  up  to  be  your  ideal  of 
a  son,  made  him  a  gentleman,  taught  him  to  sail  and 
fish  and  shoot  and  have  come  to  love  him  as  your  very 
own  son  indeed,  suppose,  I  say,  that  then  some  one 
appears  to  claim  him,  perhaps  even  some  hound  of  a 
sea-thief.  How  would  you  feel  then,  Harry  ? " 

"  Gad,  then  the  claimant  would  have  to  prove  his  case 
to  a  magistrate  and  enforce  it  against  a  dragoon," 
quoth  the  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  quondam  colonel 
of  cavalry.  "  That  risk  I  may  run  ;  but  the  sailorman 
assures  me  I  do  not.  He  says  the  parents  are  both 
dead.  He  promised  if  I  keep  the  boy  to  tell  me  how 
he  came  by  him.  Besides  if  any  wrong  has  been  done 
he  shall  be  answerable,  for  indeed  he  makes  it  a  condi 
tion  that  he  be  allowed  to  remain  near  the  child. 
Another  condition  is  that  the  lad  shall  go  into  the  navy 
as  soon  as  he  is  old  enough,  which  according  to  the  old 
leviathan  will  be  at  about  ten  years  of  age.  At  any 
rate,  I  really  do  not  see  what  I  can  do  but  take  care  of 
the  youngster  until  then  or  until  his  proper  guardian 
turns  up." 

Brunt  said  no  more,  for  he  knew  that  no  advice 
could  overcome  the  yearning  of  his  neighbor's  heart — a 
desire  that  increased  as  old  age  approached.  A  day  or 
two  later  the  squire  came  again  and  announced. 

"  Well,  Bob,  I  know  the  whole  thing  now — or  anyway, 


A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy.  37 

as  much  as  I  need  to  know.  What  Orrin  has  not  told 
me,  he  has  put,  with  great  labor,  in  an  affidavit  which  I 
am  to  keep.  In  case  of  his  death,  I  am  to  read  this  paper 
when  the  boy  grows  up,  and  not  before,  unless  abso 
lutely  necessary.  I  made  him  give  an  account  of  him 
self,  at  least,  before  I  would  promise  anything  as  to  the 
baby,  and  I  can  see  that  he  has  been  perfectly  right 
and  loyal  in  all  he  has  done.  Indeed,  he  is  giving  up  a 
great  deal  by  his  secrecy.  The  whole  nation  would 
like  to  know  what  I  do  ;  but  the  old  shellback  is  cau 
tious  to  the  most  absurd  degree  in  the  dread  of  break 
ing  a  certain  oath.  He  has  sealed  my  lips,  too,  and  I 
can  never  add  to  history  though  I  am  big  with  it.  And 
upon  my  soul,  Bob,  I  believe  every  word  of  his  story 
though  it  is  strange  enough  ;  for  I  can  tell  a  liar  and 
that  man  is  not  one.  Furthermore,"  concluded  the 
squire,  triumphantly,  "  I  am  going  to  keep  the  boy, 
though  I  have  promised  to  make  him  a  midshipman 
after  six  years.  Henceforth  he  is  to  be  my  son  and 
bear  my  name.  He  is  to  be  christened  Theodore,  for  a 
gift  of  God  he  is  if  ever  there  was  one.  Orrin  says  the 
little  fellow  has  been  called  Barber,  but  that  can  be 
only  a  baby  nickname  and  rather  a  silly  one  I  think." 

After  taking  the  shipwrecked  sailors  to  town  Mr. 
Lawrence  returned  in  great  good  humor.  At  the  Navy 
Yard  he  had  met  a  young  cousin  of  whom  he  was  very 
proud  and  very  fond,  a  lieutenant  who  had  recently 
distinguished  himself  in  the  Barbary  war,  as  the 
squire  always  knew  he  would.  The  relationship,  if  any, 
was  very  distant  but  Mr.  Lawrence  always  maintained 
that  Jim  was  a  Long  Island  Lawrence,  even  if  he  did 
make  the  early  mistake  of  being  born  in  New  Jersey. 
The  young  officer  had  promised  if  he  could  get  leave 


38  Smith   Brunt. 

to  make  the  squire  a  visit  in  the  Spring  before  the 
birds  had  left  the  bay. 

"  You'll  see  an  ideal  naval  officer,  Smith,"  cried  the 
squire.  "  You  know  he  was  second  in  command  on  the 
Intrepid,  and  he  is  just  what  an  officer  should  be.  None 
of  your  blaspheming,  shirt-sleeved,  tobacco-smoking 
sea-dogs,  but  a  dignified  gentleman,  who  fights  in  full 
uniform  and  swears  only  as  a  gentleman  should." 

In  April,  true  to  his  promise,  young  Mr.  James 
Lawrence  of  the  navy  came  to  Bayhampton.  The 
squire's  most  enthusiastic  descriptions  were  fulfilled. 
Smith  had  never  seen  such  a  figure  of  a  hero.  He  was 
taller  than  Captain  Brunt,  almost  as  tall  even  as  Ben 
Orrin,  and  straight  as  a  mast,  with  a  face  open  and 
bright  as  the  bay  in  the  sunlight.  Although  but 
twenty-four  years  of  age  he  had  already  been  men 
tioned  several  times  in  despatches  and  was  likely  soon 
to  have  command  of  a  man-of-war.  He  had  followed 
Decatur  to  glory  over  the  side  of  the  Philadelphia  and 
had  probably  mowed  Turks  like  hay.  Yet  withal  no 
ordinary  person  could  have  been  more  willing  to  talk 
to  little  Smith  Brunt,  or  anyone  else  in  the  village. 
He  took  an  interest  in  everything,  from  Squire  Law 
rence's  cows  to  Miss  Carman's  gingerbread,  and  where- 
ever  he  went  radiated  cheerfulness.  Very  different 
from  that  city  nephew  of  the  squire's.  Brave,  hand 
some,  generous  and  polite,  and  a  perfect  seaman,  no 
wonder  Jim  Lawrence  was  the  pride  of  every  ship  in 
which  he  sailed  and  loved  by  everyone  who  ever  met 
him  afloat  or  ashore. 

There  was  great  curiosity  as  to  whether  the  visitor 
would  know  Ben  Orrin.  When  Lawrence  arrived  the 
old-man-o'-warsman  had  gone  across  the  bay  to  look  for 
a  missing  cow  on  the  beach.  It  took  him  several  days 


A  Gentleman  of  the   Navy.  39 

to  find  that  cow.  He  got  home  late  one  night,  and 
early  the  next  morning  went  back  into  the  woods  to 
cut  rails.  He  must  have  chopped  down  an  acre  or 
more  of  precious  trees  for  he  kept  at  that  work  from 
dawn  to  late  at  night  for  a  week.  Immediately  after 
that  he  went  west  at  daylight  in  the  large  catboat  after 
seed  oysters,  and  did  not  get  back  until  after  young 
Lawrence's  departure.  So  the  two  never  met,  to  the 
sore  disappointment  of  the  neighbors. 

By  Smith  Brunt,  however,  the  privilege  of  the  visi 
tor's  company  was  not  wasted  for  a  moment.  He 
followed  the  young  man  about  like  a  little  dog,  so 
much  that  his  father  warned  him  not  to  be  a  nuisance. 
But  Lawrence  declared  laughingly  that  he  revelled  in 
such  sincere  flattery  and  meant  to  have  all  he  could  of 
it.  He  frequently  went  with  Smith  and  Carman 
Hawkins  in  pursuit  of  early  snipe  and  late  broadbill 
and  proved  a  good  shot,  and  handy  in  a  battery,  too, 
despite  his  size.  He  could  even  sail  a  boat  passably 
well,  which  was  most  unusual  for  a  square-rigger.  It 
took  Orrin  six  months  to  learn  a  cat-boat. 

Was  there  ever  a  boy  who  did  not  at  some  time  care 
fully  decide  that  the  only  sphere  adapted  to  his  capaci 
ties  was  the  sea  ?  If  so,  he  dwelt  not  in  range  of  its 
spell.  Smith  Brunt  had  reach  that  conclusion  long 
ago,  but  now  more  than  ever  before  did  he  long  for 
the  career  typefied  to  him  in  this  new  hero.  Carman 
Hawkins  had  ideas  on  the  subject,  too  ;  but  so  had  his 
aunt.  While  the  boys  were  piloting  their  prize  about 
the  bay  and  the  meadows,  Captain  Brunt  was  doing  a 
great  deal  of  rather  lonely  thinking,  prompted  by  cer 
tain  urgent  suggestions  of  young  Lawrence.  On  one 
evening,  after  Smith  had  been  ordered  aloft  to  bed,  a 
final  council  of  war  was  held  over  his  future*. 


4-O  Smith  Brunt. 

"  I  have  always  intended  it,  Harry,"  replied  the  Cap 
tain,  to  the  squire's  fiftieth  protest.  "It  is  the  best 
training  the  boy  can  have,  even  should  he  not  adopt 
the  service  for  his  life-work.  It  will  educate  and 
broaden  him,  teach  him  something  of  men  and  things 
beyond  his  own  home.  As  I  am  unable  myself  to  give 
him  such  advantages,  have  I  a  right  to  refuse  him  the 
chance  to  obtain  them  ?" 

"  Well,  I  never  could  §see  why  home  isn't  a  good 
enough  place  for  a  boy,"  asserted  the  squire  stoutly. 
He  had  spent  half  a  dozen  years  of  his  own  life  in 
Washington's  army,  consorting  with  such  men  as 
Hamilton,  Burr,  and  the  Commander  himself,  and  win 
ning  at  the  cannon's  mouth  a  reputation  that  had 
remained  a  very  solid  and  valuable  bubble.  But  like 
most  veterans,  he  regarded  his  military  service  as  a 
period  of  privation  for  which  the  country  owed  him 
much  and  not  in  any  way  as  having  been  of  advantage 
to  himself.  "  Thank  heaven,"  he  declared,  "  I  have  at 
least  six  years  before  I  have  to  go  through  this  sort  of 
thing  with  my  boy,"  (a  satisfied  emphasis  on  the  posses 
sive).  I  am  afraid  when  the  time  comes  I  shan't  be 
able  to  keep  my  promise,  although  I  have  yonder  lady 
to  lighten  the  house.  You  have  no  one  but  Smith,  and 
here  you  are  ready  to  give  him  up.  All  I  say  is,  I 
couldn't  do  it  if  I  were  you,  even  if  it  is  the  right  thing 
to  do." 

"  I  am  sure  it  is,  sir,"  put  in  young  Lawrence.  "  The 
service  does  wonders  for  a  boy  always,  if  he  is  started 
in  the  right  way,  and  I  will  see  to  that.  I  admit  it  is 
dangerous  for  a  young  reefer  of  ten  or  twelve  years, 
with  no  one  to  keep  an  eye  on  him,  if  he  happens  to 
get  in  with  a  bad  set.  But  Smith  is  old  enough  to  be 
trusted,  ancT  he  shall  be  well  looked  after,  I  promise  you, 


A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy.  41 

even  if  I  do  not  have  a  ship  of  my  own  on  which  to 
take  him." 

"  I  believe  you,  my  lad,"  replied  Captain  Brunt  grate 
fully.  "  Indeed,  it  is  the  interest  you  seem  to  take  in 
my  boy  that  makes  me  sure  I  ought  not  to  waste  such 
an  opportunity  for  him.  I  want  to  see  him  on  a  good 
ship  and  well  started  in  the  service.  It  is  little  that  I 
can  do  for  him  myself,"  he  added,  smiling  rather  sadly, 
"  for,  as  you  may  suppose,  my  past  service  has  not  given 
me  much  claim  or  influence  with  our  Government.  I 
served  my  king  as  long  as  I  had  one  and  now  that  the 
king  has  been  changed  for  a  Flag,  I  would  like  to  have 
my  son  continue  the  duty." 

"There!  That's  just  what  I  thought,"  exclaimed 
Mr.  Lawrence.  "  I  really  believe  you  are  doing  this 
thing  as  a  penance  and  serve  you  right,  too,  for  having 
been  a  pig-headed  Tory.  Of  course  you  are  quite  right 
to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  ;  but  we'll  forgive  you 
without  your  giving  up  your  only  child.  Oh  yes,  I  will 
talk  to  him  like  that  Mrs.  Lawrence  and  it  does  no  good 
for  you  to  make  faces  at  me  behind  his  back.  It  is 
excellent  for  him,  and  amuses  me." 

"  I  am  always  delighted  to  give  you  pleasure,  Harry," 
laughed  the  captain  and  continued,  "  I  fear  the  Govern 
ment  cannot  much  longer  keep  out  of  this  whirlpool 
which  is  spreading  itself  disagreeably  all  over  the  At 
lantic.  We  have  already  fouled  the  edge  of  it  with 
France,  and  sooner  or  later  shall  be  mixed  up  in  the 
middle  of  it  and  at  loggerheads  again,  with  either  France 
or  England,  or  both.  It  would  do  me  good  Harry  to 
serve  with  you  once  instead  of  against  you,  but  you  and 
I  are  growing  old,  lad,  and  I  fear  shall  be  on  the  shelf 
when  the  trouble  comes.  But  Smith  must  be  on  deck, 
and  had  better  begin  getting  ready  now  if  he  is  to  be 


42  Smith   Brunt. 

of  any  use  when  the  time  comes.  It  will  be  a  naval  war 
and  your  raw  volunteers  are  even  worse  afloat  than 
ashore.  Eh,  Lawrence  ?  " 

Young  Lawrence  eagerly  responded  with  his  views 
on  the  European  war  and  the  late  ill  treatment  of  our 
merchant  ships.  And  so  the  talk  proceeded  from 
Smith  Brunt  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte  and  ranged  over 
many  other  persons  and  things  of  no  import  to  us. 

But  when  the  Lawrences  walked  home  that  evening 
the  first  words  uttered  by  the  squire  were, 

"The  idea  of  that  old  fool  of  a  Roman  giving  up  the 
only  comfort  of  his  life  for  sentiment.  He  can  talk 
about  the  boy's  advantage  as  much  as  he  chooses,  but 
his  ridiculous  old  principles  are  three-quarters  of  his 
reasons.  It  will  half  kill  him,  it  is  wicked,  it  is  bar 
barous,  it  is  just  like  a  savage  slashing  his  belly  for 
principle.  It  makes  me  angry.  No  it  doesn't  either, 
it  is  just  like  the  splendid  old  idiot." 

"  Well,  please  don't  try  to  stop  him,"  begged  the 
naval  officer  ;  "  for  it  will  be  everything  for  the  boy,  and 
youngsters  with  such  breeding  are  everything  for  the 
service.  Captain  Brunt  is  right,  we  are  going  to  need 
all  the  good  officers  we  can  get." 

"You're  a  confounded  crimp,  Jim  Lawrence,"  de 
clared  the  squire.  "  I  suppose  it's  all  very  fine,  but  I 
couldn't  do  it,  I  couldn't  do  it — damme,  I  wouldn't  do 
it,"  after  which  somewhat  mixed  distinction  between 
"can"  and  "will,"  Squire  Lawrence  stumped  along  in 

silence. 

• 

After  his  guests  had  gone  Captain  Brunt  stood  a  little 
while  looking  out  at  the  night.  The  sky  was  clear,  and 
showed  distinctly  against  itself  the  black  line  of  the 
beach  across  the  bay.  He  gave  a  slight  shudder  and 
closed  the  door.  The  great  comforter  and  counsellor, 


A  Gentleman  of  the  Navy.  43 

Sir  Nicotine,  was  at  that  time  considered,  by  the  older 
men  at  least,  company  unfit  for  gentlemen,  so  Captain 
Brunt  was  alone.  He  paced  slowly  up  and  down  the 
room  several  times,  then  began  a  tour  of  his  lares  and 
penates.  First  he  consulted  the  Indian  bow  and  toma 
hawk  that  had  hung  over  the  door  since  his  grand 
father's  time;  but  he  seemed  to  draw  slight  oracle  from 
those.  Then  he  moved  on  to  his  own  sword  above  the 
fireplace.  That  must  have  told  him  something,  for  he 
stood  before  it  several  minutes  and  his  face  grew  at 
first  sad,  then  hard.  With  something  like  a  sigh  he 
turned  to  a  stuffed  plover  that  adorned  a  corner  of  the 
mantle  piece.  Now  he  smiled.  It  was  Smith's  first 
bird,  and  perhaps  reminded  Captain  Brunt  of  the  little 
figure  that  had  trotted  at  his  heels  over  the  meadows, 
of  how  he  had  supported  the  heavy  fowling-piece  on 
the  palm  of  his  hand  while  the  youngster  aimed  and 
fired,  and  how  the  plover  had  tumbled  one  way  and 
Smith  the  other.  A  white  owl  on  the  other  corner  of 
the  shelf  was  next  consulted.  That  too  was  Smith's 
trophy,  to  obtain  which  the  boy  had  watched  by  the 
creek  steadily  for  ten  winter  evenings.  As  the  captain 
leaned  against  the  chimney  he  felt  a  cold  nose  thrust 
into  his  hand  and  looked  down  at  the  old  gray  setter, 
who  had  been  sleeping  on  the  hearth  after  a  hard  day 
with  the  English  snipe.  He  took  a  soft  ear  in  each 
hand  and  bowed  his  head  toward  the  brown  eyes  that 
gazed  up  at  him,  just  as  they  had  looked  on  a  certain 
night  when  Smith  was  a  baby  asleep  in  his  crib.  On 
that  former  evening  the  master  had  said,  "  Yes,  puppy, 
she  is  gone.  Can  you  and  I  take  care  of  him  ?  "  Now 
he  said,  "  Well,  old  dog,  can  we  let  him  go  ?  "  And 
the  old  dog  pressed  his  forehead  against  his  master's 
knee,  as  he  had  done  at  that  other  time.  Then  Cap- 


44  Smith   Brunt 

tain  Brunt  turned  to  the  only  really  beautiful  thing  in 
the  simple  room,  a  portrait  that  hung  above  the  fire 
place.  Long  he  looked  at  this  with  his  arms  crossed 
upon  the  mantel  piece,  then  lowered  his  head.  Come, 
let  us  leave  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WHEREIN    SMITH    GOES    INTO    THE    WORLD. 

ABOUT  two  months  after  the  departure  of  James 
Lawrence,  Smith  Brunt  and  his  father  and  the 
squire  were  embarked  in  the  stage  for  New  York. 
When  the  youngster  had  heard  that  he  was  actually  to 
enter  the  navy,  he  had  received,  partially  through  his 
mouth  and  gray  eyes  stretched  to  their  limits,  the 
astounding  news  too  great  for  the  normal  entrance  by 
his  ears  alone.  Assured  that  his  "  long,  long  thoughts  " 
were  at  last  to  be  realized,  he  was  at  first,  like  any  boy, 
utterly  delighted.  In  one  of  his  outbursts,  however,  he 
stopped  short. 

"  But,  father,"  he  exclaimed,  "  you — you  will  be  all 
alone,  won't  you  ?  " 

"Oh,  no,"  answered  the  captain,  cheerfully,  "old 
Buckshot  and  I  will  take  care  of  each  other  very  well, 
and  I  shall  have  the  Lawrences.  Then,  whenever  you 
come  home  on  leave,  we  shall  have  so  much  to  talk 
over  that  it  will  make  up  for  your  absence.  No,  my 
dear  boy,  I  would  a  great  deal  rather  have  you  follow 
ing  a  useful  and  honourable  career  to  your  liking,  than 
keep  you  here  a  discontented  degenerated  gentleman." 

Not  one  word  did  the  father  say  to  abate  the  son's 
delight,  not  one  hint  did  he  ever  drop  to  remind  the 
young  eagle  of  the  empty  nest.  His  love  was  too 
strong  and  true  to  distress  its  object  by  complaining, 
too  well  assured  to  protest  itself  in  lamentation.  There 

45 


46  Smith  Brunt. 

are  a  few,  a  very  few  people  to  whom  the  happiness  of 
those  they  love  is  really  and  truly  their  own  ;  or  at 
any  rate  it  seems  to  be,  because  they  seldom  say  so. 
Frequent  assertion  of  the  sentiment  lays  it  open  to 
suspicion.  Captain  Brunt  had  not  yet  reached  the  per 
fection  of  being  actually  happy  at  the  thought  of  his 
boy's  absence,  but  had  schooled  himself  nearly  to  that 
point,  and  was  a  passed  master  at  pretending. 

When  Smith,  in  high  glee,  told  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Law 
rence,  they  exclaimed,  "  So  it  is  decided,  is  it?  What 
will  your  father  do  without  you  ?  " 

"  What  he  did  for  a  number  of  years  before  he  had 
him,"  broke  in  Captain  Brunt.  "  I  am  not  going  to 
make  a  fuss  over  such  a  thing  at  my  time  of  life. 
Do  you  suppose  I  want  my  boy  tied  to  my  coat  tails  ? 
Don't  give  him  such  an  opinion  of  me." 

Carman  Hawkins  was  not  so  reticent  in  his  regrets. 
"  'Y  Guy  I  dunno,"  he  plained,  "  if  you're  away,  who  is 
goin'  talk  my  Aunt  Hepsy  round  when  I  want  to  go 
gunnin'  ?"  But  Ben  Orrin  was  almost  as  much  pleased 
as  Smith  himself,  and  filled  the  prospective  midship 
man  with  good  advice.  The  old  sailor  had  grown  very 
fond  of  the  lad  who  had  saved  his  life,  and  had  often 
begged  him  to  go  into  the  navy,  which  he  considered 
the  best  thing  for  him  or  any  man. 

The  departure  had  been  quite  a  ceremony,  at  which 
half  Bayhampton  attended.  Miss  Carman  had  stored 
two  loaves  of  gingerbread  in  the  stage,  because  she  had 
heard  as  how  the  food  aboard  ship  wasn't  always  very 
nice.  Mr.  Lawrence  had  rallied  from  his  somewhat 
dismal  sympathy  and  was  now  in  high  spirits  over  the 
expedition  to  town  with  the  captain.  It  was  very  sel 
dom,  indeed,  that  the  latter  went  to  New  York,  and  the 
squire  declared  that  on  this  trip  he  would  drag  the  old 


Into  the  World.  47 

hermit  into  the  world  again,  and  make  him  see  all  his 
old  friends. 

They  slept  at  Jamaica,  and  next  morning  arrived  at 
the  Catherine  Ferry.  It  was  Smith's  first  visit  to  the 
city,  and  he  was  interested  in  every  scene  after  landing 
on  York  Island  from  the  periagua  that  served  as  a 
ferry.  They  took  rooms  at  the  new  City  Hotel,  (that 
horrible  word  had  just  displaced  the  good  old  name  of 
inn),  and  Smith  wondered  whether  any  palace  in 
Europe  was  larger  than  this  hostlery,  but  did  not  ask, 
for  he  reflected  that  he  was  sixteen  and  perhaps  ought 
to  know. 

The  morning  was  spent  in  calling  at  the  Navy  Yard, 
and  then  at  various  shops  to  complete  the  midship 
man's  wardrobe,  whereof  the  chief  glories  were  a  dirk 
and  cocked  hat.  In  the  afternoon,  as  Captain  Brunt 
had  agreed  to  make  some  visits  with  Mr.  Lawrence,  he 
left  the  youngster  to  himself,  cautioning  him  not  to 
get  lost  in  the  streets. 

Smith  picked  out  the  Bowery  Road  for  his  first  per 
ambulation,  and  soon  passed  beyond  the  serried  ranks 
of  brick  dwellings,  and  came  to  separate,  four-sided 
houses  surrounded  by  ornate  gardens  and  trees.  Of 
course  these  were  somewhat  like  the  larger  houses  in 
the  country,  but  much  more  elaborate,  and  then  it  was 
odd  to  see  so  many  of  them.  He  walked  far,  and 
allowed  his  fancy  to  play  away,  as  it  often  does  with  a 
solitary  pedestrian.  He  wondered  what  sort  of  people 
lived  in  these  houses,  and  whether  he  might  not  see 
beautiful  young  ladies  in  fine  clothes  such  as  he  had 
seen  in  pictures.  Then  he  thought  how  he  would  sail 
all  over  the  world  in  a  man-of-war,  and  see  people  of 
all  kinds,  and  perhaps  rescue  some  lovely  lady  from 
the  Turks,  etc. 


48  Smith  Brunt. 

From  the  high  flight  of  his  imagination  he  was  sud 
denly  brought  back  to  earth  by  the  sound  of  hoofs,  and 
turning,  saw  two  riders  coming  at  a  furious  gallop. 
On  the  leader,  he  made  out  a  fluttering  skirt  and  long 
hair  flying.  The  other  was  a  man,  and  rode  at  some 
distance  behind,  leaning  forward  and  urging  his  horse 
in  an  evident  endeavor  to  catch  his  companion's. 
Plainly,  it  was  a  runaway. 

As  the  animal  dashed  up  to  the  point  where  he  stood, 
Smith  leaped  to  the  bridle.  For  lack  of  weight  he  was 
dragged  a  good  way,  and  heard  cries  of  alarm  as  he 
bumped  along  through  the  dust  ;  but  held  on  and 
finally  brought  the  horse  to  a  standstill.  Then  he 
looked  up  at  the  rider, — and  almost  lost  his  remnant 
of  breath. 

Indeed,  many  a  man-of-the-world  might  have  been 
impressed  by  the  beauty  that  chained  the  boy's  bashful 
gaze.  She  was  a  girl  just  turning  into  a  woman,  with 
all  the  freshness  and  sparkle  of  that  spring  age.  Her 
hair  had  become  loosened  by  the  hard  ride,  and  flowed 
down  her  back  in  a  great  auburn  wave.  It  was  the 
kind  of  hair  that  is  so  hard  to  keep  in  its  place.  The 
exercise  had  also  brightened  her  color  and  great,  dark 
eyes.  Except  for  his  bruised  shins,  Smith  would  not 
have  been  quite  sure  that  the  whole  thing  was  not  a 
part  of  his  day  dream.  But  the  vision  did  not  behave 
in  the  least  like  a  rescued  damsel  in  a  story,  for  she 
was  shaking  with  laughter.  Smith  had  little  time  to 
wonder  at  this  before  the  other  rider  pulled  up  beside 
them  and  demanded  angrily 

"  What  do  you  mean  sir,  by  interfering — Why,  Smith 
Brunt,  what  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

It  was  Herbert  de  Voe.  Smith  began  to  see  that  he 
had  made  some  mistake,  and  grew  red  as  a  beet. 


Into  the  World.  49 

"  I  thought,  I — I — wasn't  it  a  runaway,  Herbert  ?  "  he 
stammered. 

The  laughter  rang  out  again,  such  a  silvery  peal  that 
Smith  wished  it  would  go  on  forever  even  at  his  ex 
pense.  DeVoe  joined  in  the  merriment. 

"  What  a  gallant  rescue  !  "  he  cried.  "  Smith  you're 
a  hero — an  undoubted  hero  ;  that  is,  you  would  be  if 
you  had  really  stopped  a  runaway  instead  of  a  race. 
Miss  Terrible  let  me  present  Master  Smith  Brunt,  a 
young  friend  of  mine  from  the  country." 

Smith  was  young  enough  to  wish  to  be  older  and 
thought  Herbert  might  have  called  him  Mr.  instead  of 
Master  or  at  least  left  off  the  "young"  ;  but  Herbert 
deVoe  always  had  that  charming  way  with  him.  He 
was  fully  three  years  older  than  Smith  and  therefore 
had  to  keep  the  boy  of  sixteen  in  his  place.  Any  re 
sentment  on  the  latter's  part,  however,  was  forgotten 
as  the  fairy  on  the  horse  leaned  over  and  putting  out 
her  hand  said  in  a  musical  voice. 

"I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  good  in 
tentions  at  any  rate,  Mr.  Brunt  "(s/ie  said  Mr.).  "  If 
my  horse  had  been  running  away,  you  would  have 
saved  me  handsomely,  I  am  sure." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  pleaded  Smith  blushing  furi 
ously  and  scarcely  daring  to  look  squarely  at  the 
angel,  "  I'm  very  sorry  I  was  so  stupid." 

"Not  at  all.  I  don't  wonder  at  the  mistake.  But  it 
was  so  funny.  Please  forgive  me  for  laughing.  I  hope 
you  haven't  hurt  yourself,  or — or  spoiled  your  clothes." 

Smith  looked  down  at  himself  and  found  that  he  was 
covered  with  dirt,  and  moreover  that  he  was  shedding 
his  blood  for  the  maiden,  but,  alas,  in  a  manner  unpoetic. 
The  horse's  head  had  struck  him  on  the  nose.  That 
wound  must  frequently  have  come  to  knights  errant 


50  Smith  Brunt. 

engaged  in  damsel  saving,  but  seems  never  to  be  men 
tioned  in  the  romances.  Hastily  covering  the  injured 
member  with  a  pocket  handkerchief  he  stammered  out 
another  apology,  and  an  awkward  good-bye  of  some 
sort,  then  ran  back  after  his  hat  and  picking  it  up 
walked  hurriedly  back  towards  the  town.  In  the  city 
streets  he  was  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the 
crowded  population  because  everybody  stared  at  his 
clothes,  or  he  thought  they  did. 

At  the  inn  he  found  in  his  father's  room  his  nautical 
sponsor,  Lieutenant  Lawrence.  The  young  officer  was 
urging  Captain  Brunt  to  do  something  or  other  and 
Smith  was  slipping  through  to  his  own  room  when  he 
caught  a  name  that  made  him  halt  and  listen. 

"  Y.ou  postively  must  go,"  Lawrence  was  saying. 
"  Old  Temble  said  he  wouldn't  let  me  in  without  you." 

"  I  found  his  card  and  the  invitation  here."  said 
Captain  Brunt,  "  and  it  was  very  kind  of  him  indeed, 
but  I  fear  I  might  be  a  damper  on  a  dinner  party. 
Your  generation  does  not  appreciate  the  feeling  there 
was  against  us  Tories,  my  dear  boy,  but  there  would 
probably  be  several  there  who  remember  it  well  enough 
and  would  remember  Tory  Brunt  particularly." 

"  Nonsense,"  answered  Lawrence.  "  If  that  were 
the  case  I'd  be  tabooed  myself,  for  surely  there  was  no 
stauncher  Loyalist  than  my  dear  father,  as  you  know. 
No,  no,  there  has  been  plenty  of  time  for  all  that  sort 
of  thing  to  die  out,  and  if  you  had  been  here  more  you 
would  have  seen  the  change.  If  any  of  your  old 
friends  or  enemies,  whichever  you  choose  to  call  them, 
are  there,  depend  upon  it  they  will  be  just  as  delighted 
as  Mr.  Temble  himself,  fo  see  you  again.  Then  it  will 
be  a  first  rate  thing  for  Smith.  There  are  always  lots 
of  navy  men  at  Temble's  and  there  may  be  some  from 


Into  the  World.  51 

his  own  ship.  Mr.  Temble  made  a  particular  point 
that  you  should  bring  the  youngster.  Two  of  you  will 
keep  the  table  even,  you  see." 

"  What  do  you  say  to  that,  Smith  ?  "  asked  his  father 
who  had  seen  the  boy  enter.  "  Do  you  think  we  two 
countrymen  can  get  through  a  town  dinner  party  with 
out  betraying  our  manners,  eh  ?" 

"  Hullo,  Mr.  Midshipman  Brunt,"  cried  Lawrence. 
"  See  here,  you  back  me  up.  Make  the  skipper  go  to 
this  dinner  and  take  you.  I  tell  you  what,  youngster, 
you'll  meet  an  amazing  pretty  girl  there.  Old  Temble 
is  proud  as  punch  of  his  daughter  and  I  don't  blame 
him,  though  I  think  he  has  brought  her  out  rather 
young." 

The  upshot  of  this  conversation  was  that  Captain 
Brunt  decided  to  accept  the  invitation.  Before  the 
dinner  hour  Smith  became  nearly  ill  with  mingled  excite 
ment  and  fear.  He  worked  studiously  over  his  toi 
let  not  only  for  the  honour  of  Bayhampton  and  the 
navy,  for  which  latter  he  now  felt  some  responsibility, 
but  in  a  desperate  endeavor  to  wipe  out  the  impression 
that  he  must  have  created  that  day.  Not  with  the  re 
motest  hope  that  the  superior  being  would  notice  his 
neatness,  did  he  thus  labor  upon  it,  but  in  the  dread 
that  she  might  observe  some  lack  of  it.  When  he  fin 
ished  dressing  and  went  into  his  father's  room,  how 
ever,  his  heart  grew  stouter,  for  surely  it  was  some 
credit  to  have  such  a  parent.  Captain  Brunt's  clothes 
may  have  been  a  little  out  of  fashion  (though  of  course 
Smith  did  not  know  that),  but  they  could  have  been 
filled  so  well  by  few  men  over  fifty,  or  under  it  for  that 
matter.  The  old  soldier  was  tall,  and  still  straight  and 
graceful  as  a  youth,  but  crowned  with  dignity  by  his 
gray  hair  gathered  in  a  queue  after  a  fashion  by  that 


52  Smith  Brunt. 

time  nearly  dead.  No  wonder  Smith  was  proud  of 
him  and  concluded  that  after  all  his  father  was  the 
handsomest  man  in  the  world  not  excepting  even 
James  Lawrence.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he 
wished,  with  half  a  sigh,  that  he  himself  had  been  given 
a  little  share  of  that  sort  of  thing.  His  father  had  once 
said  laughingly  to  Mrs.  Lawrence  that  Smith's  plain 
phiz  was  a  great  gift,  for  the  first  girl  with  whom  he 
fell  in  love  would  be  very  unlikely  to  reciprocate  and  if 
he  ever  did  capture  any  woman's  affections  they  would 
go  deeper  than  his  skin. 

"Well,  Smithy,  do  you  think  we  shall  pass  muster 
among  the  city  folks  ?  "  asked  Captain  Brunt,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  as  he  slipped  on  his  cloak.  "  Come 
along,  lad.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness,  but  at 
dinner-time  punctuality  comes  well  to  the  front,  too. 
I  hope  you  will  always  combine  all  three." 

The  house  of  John  Temble  on  the  Battery  was  as 
well  known  in  the  little  provincial  town  of  that  day  as 
are  any  of  the  great  houses  that  now  lie  miles  to  the 
north  of  it  in  the  present  metropolis.  The  owner  was 
one  of  the  richest  of  the  old  New  York  merchants,  and 
celebrated  for  his  entertaining.  He  was  one  of  the 
possessors  of  silver  coffee  pots,  and  even  "  napkins,  of 
fine  material,"  such  as  roused  the  severe  wonder  of 
that  carping  old  Puritan,  John  Adams.  He  was  proud 
of  his  table,  his  silver,  his  house,  his  wrife,  and  above  all 
proud  of  his  daughter  Grace,  an  only  child,  whom  he 
adored.  Largely  for  her  sake  he  gave  as  many  as  two 
dinner  parties  a  month.  To  maintain  that  prodigal 
rate  he  had  to  feed  all  the  party-going  society  of  New 
York  about  three  times  over  in  the  season,  to  which 
the  said  society  made  no  objection.  Many  people  said 
it  was  ostentatious  and  wickedly  extravagant,  but  they 


Into  the  World.  53 

came.  The  people  who  had  no  linen  napkins,  said 
that  old  Temble  had  made  his  money  by  selling  bad 
food  to  both  armies  during  the  war,  and  the  uninvited 
said  that  he  had  made  it  in  the  slave  trade  ;  but 
neither  minded  borrowing  it. 

Smith's  trepidation  increased  alarmingly  as  he  en 
tered  the  house.  All  the  surroundings,  particularly 
the  negro  footmen,  the  like  of  whom  he  had  never 
seen,  deepened  the  circle  of  awe  around  his  fairy 
princess.  Upon  the  entrance  of  the  Brunts  in  the 
drawing-room  a  lull  in  the  conversation  did  not  put 
the  youngster  more  at  his  ease,  though  it  did  not  seem 
to  trouble  his  father  a  bit.  Mr.  Temble  came  up  and 
seized  the  captain  by  both  hands,  crying  : 

"  Under  my  roof,  at  last !  Brunt,  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourself  for  deserting  all  your  friends  for 
so  long.  The  Long  Island  air  must  be  a  great  pre 
servative,  though,  for  I  declare  you  look  younger  and 
handsomer  than  ever." 

Captain  Brunt  laughed  and  replied,  "  I  am  no  dis 
sembler,  for  here  is  the  evidence  of  my  age,"  and  he 
laid  his  hand  on  Smith's  shoulder.  "  Lawrence  said 
you  really  wanted  the  youngster  so  I  have  brought 
him  among  the  grown-uppers  for  the  first  time,  at  the 
risk  of  exposing  my  venerability." 

"  Good.  Of  course  we  want  him.  Delighted  to  see 
you  my  boy.  Let  me  present  you  both  to  Mrs.  Temble 
and  my  daughter." 

Captain  Brunt  bowed  and  said  something  polite, 
and  then  it  was  Smith's  turn.  After  saluting  Mrs. 
Temble  he  looked  timidly  at  the  daughter,  and  then 
entered  at  once  into  the  seventh  heaven  when  she 
exclaimed  "  Why,  how  do  you  do  ?  We've  met  before, 
haven't  we  ? " 


54  Smith   Brunt. 

On  the  way  thither  Smith  had  thought  out  and 
rehearsed  in  his  mind  just  what  to  say  when  he  was 
presented,  and  a  very  pretty  speech  it  was,  too  ;  but 
he  did  not  say  it.  He  merely  observed  "  I  am  very 
glad  to  see  you  again."  Then  Herbert  de  Voe,  who 
was  standing  next  to  Miss  Temble  asked,  "  How  are 
your  bruises?"  and  the  goddess  said,  "  Now  don't 
tease  him,"  and  both  laughed.  Smith  laughed,  too, 
rather  awkwardly,  then  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets, 
and  then  pulled  them  out  again  as  if  he'd  burned  them 
and  finally  put  them  out  of  the  way  behind  his  back. 
Miss  Temble  went  on  talking  to  de  Voe,  for  which 
Smith  was  strangely  thankful.  He  kept  silent,  gazing 
at  the  princess  when  her  head  was  turned  away  and  at 
a  table  beside  him  when  she  looked  in  his  direction. 
Squire  Lawrence  arrived  shortly  after  the  Brunts, 
greeted  nearly  everybody  by  their  first  name,  and 
claimed  the  privilege  of  kissing  the  young  lady  of  the 
house,  which  nearly  took  Smith's  breath  away.  Then 
he  proceeded  to  act  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Temble 
as  a  sort  of  showman  for  Captain  Brunt,  as  though  the 
captain  were  the  lion  of  the  evening.  Smith  was  sur 
prised  at  the  number  of  people  who  seemed  to  know 
his  father.  One  elderly  gentleman  stopped  before 
Miss  Temble  and  looking  toward  Captain  Brunt,  asked 
"  Can  you  tell  me,  Miss  Grace,  the  name  of  that  tall 
gray  haired  man,  with  the  queue  ?  His  face  is 
strangely  familiar  to  me." 

"  I  think  his  name  is  Brunt,"  Smith  heard  her  an 
swer.  "  Wasn't  that  it  Mr.  de  Voe  ?  Some  friend  or 
other  of  Mr.  Henry  Lawrence,  I  believe.  That  is  all  / 
know  of  him." 

The  old  gentleman  looked  suddenly  at  Miss  Temble 
with  a  peculiar  sort  of  smile  and  said  "  Tempora  mutantur 


Into  the  World.  55 

nos  et  mutamnrinillis.  That  is  Latin,  Miss  Grace,  but 
when  you  get  to  my  age  you'll  understand  it ;"  and 
without  further  remark,  he  walked  across  to  Captain 
Brunt  and  next  moment  was  shaking  hands  and  talk 
ing  earnestly  with  him. 

"  I  wonder  what  made  the  Chief  Justice  speak  Latin 
to  me,  like  that,"  remarked  the  young  lady  poutingly 
to  de  Voe.  u  If  he  were  not  such  a  great  man  I  should 
say  he  was  rather  rude." 

Whereat,  Smith  overhearing  her,  conceived  a  desire 
to  fight  the  Chief  Justice,  whoever  he  might  be. 

In  a  few  minutes  Smith  was  delighted  at  the  advent 
of  his  dear  Lieutenant  Lawrence,  who  came  straight 
across  the  room  to  him  just  as  if  there  had  been  no 
one  else  there,  instead  of  a  galaxy  of  beautiful  women 
and  distinguished  men,  all  of  whom  bowed  and  smiled 
to  the  Herculean  young  officer.  Lawrence  made  the 
youngster  feel  happy  immediately.  He  talked  to  Miss 
Temble  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  most  remarkable 
manner  drew  Smith  into  the  conversation  so  that  the 
lad  felt  as  if  he  were  actually  taking  a  share  in  it.  He 
told  the  names  of  everybody  in  the  room.  "  Look  over 
there,  Smith,"  said  he.  "  There's  a  man  just  coming  in 
now,  in  whom  you  ought  to  be  interested." 

Smith  looked  toward  the  door,  and  saw  a  slender, 
dark  man,  whose  hair  curled  away  in  a  long  cowlick 
from  a  high  forehead.  His  nose  was  peculiarly  long, 
but  did  not  spoil  a  countenance  otherwise  handsome, 
for  it  was  straight  and  finely  cut,  besides  which  the 
dark  restless  eyes  at  once  monopolized  most  of  the 
observer's  attention.  There  was  a  noticeable  hush  in 
the  room  and  Smith  forgot  everything  else,  even  the 
princess  for  a  moment,  as  the  butler  announced 
"  Captain  Decatur."  The  famous  officer  did  not  look 


56  Smith   Brunt. 

a  bit  as  if  he  could  slay  gigantic  corsairs  hand-to-hand 
as  every  one  knew  he  had  done.  Later  on  that  same 
evening,  and  several  times  afterwards  in  his  life  Smith 
saw  those  eyes  when  the  fire  was  lighted  behind  them  ; 
but  his  comment  now  to  Lawrence  was,  "  Why  he  is  not 
half  as  big  a  man  as  you." 

"  Thank  you,"  laughed  Lawrence,  "  I  wish  everybody 
else  thought  so.  The  Government's  honourable  recog 
nition  of  my  humble  share  in  the  Philadelphia  affair 
was  an  offer  of  two  months  extra  pay — and  I  could  not 
even  strike  any  body  for  the  compliment.  However  at 
the  next  opportunity  I  shall  endeavor  to  live  up  to  your 
opinion  and  prove  myself  twice  as  big  a  man  as 
Decatur." 

At  dinner,  Smith  with  delight  not  unmixed  with  fear 
found  himself  next  to  Grace  Temble.  To  his  great 
relief  Squire  Lawrence  sat  on  his  other  side  and  the 
proximity  of  the  familiar  broad  shoulders  gave  him 
more,  confidence.  He  ventured  very  little  into  conver 
sation,  however,  and  worshipped  in  silence.  A  remark 
from  Herbert  de  Voe  on  the  other  side  of  Miss  Temble, 
that  children  should  be  seen  and  not  heard  was  quite 
undeserved  and  drew  from  the  young  lady  a  rebuke, 
but  a  smile  also. 

After  the  ladies  departure,  the  conversation  turned 
upon  the  recent  outrage  against  the  frigate  Chesapeake. 
When  Decatur  spoke  of  it,  Smith  noticed  his  eyes  and 
remembered  them  years  afterward,  when  the  brilliant 
sailor  lay  dead  in  his  quarrel  with  the  unfortunate 
commander  of  that  baneful  craft.  Lawrence  was  more 
disposed  to  make  allowance  for  poor  Barron,  but  ad 
mitted  that  he  himself  would  rather  have  had  the 
Chesapeake  sunk,  than  have  let  the  Englishman  aboard. 

"  At  any  rate,"  said  the  lieutenant  "  Here  is  to  her 


Into  the  World.  57 

swift  revenge.  You  will  allow  that  toast  surely  Mr. 
Terrible." 

"  If  you  gentlemen  of  the  navy  must  have  it  so," 
replied  the  merchant,  "  but  I  should  prefer  the  expres 
sion  '  honourable  atonement.'  " 

"  We  shall  never  get  the  latter  until  we  show  our 
selves  ready  to  take  the  former,"  answered  Decatur. 
"  I  would  rather  drink  the  toast  as  Lawrence  puts  it." 

"  And  I,  as  amended  by  our  host,"  said  Captain 
Brunt.  "  Revenge  by  war,  young  gentlemen,  means 
killing  good  men  who  have  had  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  the  crime  and  often  allowing  the  offender  to 
escape.  It  may  become  necessary,  but  for  Heaven's 
sake  do  not  let  us  wish  for  it." 

"  But  had  we  stopped  this  sort  of  thing  when  it  was 
done  to  our  merchantmen,  it  would  not  have  happened 
to  a  man-o'-war,"  replied  the  sailor. 

"  Then  put  it  this  way  to  please  everybody,"  said  the 
hostf  (*  Satisfaction  for  the  Chesapeake.  May  our  navy 
preserve  our  honour." 

As  young  Lawrence  raised  his  glass,  it  struck  against 
the  lip  of  a  decanter  and  broke,  showering  the  wine 
over  the  table. 

"There,  Mr.  Temble,"  he  cried,  "I  have  sacrificed 
your  glass  for  the  honour  of  the  navy,  but  you  must  let 
me  try  again.  I  must  drink  that  toast  if  I  break  every 
glass  in  your  house." 

Owing  perhaps  to  the  long  dinner,  Smith  dreamed 
all  that  night  that  Grace  Temble  was  sinking  on  the 
Chesapeake  and  that  he  was  trying  to  save  her  with  a 
horse  that  could  not  swim. 

Next  morning  the  midshipman  was  taken  aboard  the 
frigate  United  States,  Captain  Bainbridge,  and  left  there 
to  learn  the  service  and  the  world,  and  to  do  his  duty 


58  Smith   Brunt. 

in  both.  The  parting  was  short,  and  Captain  Brunt's 
admonition  had  been  shorter  ;  he  had  trained  Smith 
carefully  for  sixteen  years  and  knew  that  he  could  not 
add  much  to  that  training  in  the  last  half-hour. 

"  I  only  ask  you  to  remember  two  things,  my  dear 
boy.  One  is  that  I  have  seen  and  know  as  much  of 
the  world  as  most  men,  and  what  I  have  tried  to  teach 
you  is  the  result  of  that  knowledge  and  not  merely  the 
conventional  precepts  of  a  parent.  You  will  hear  it  all 
laughed  at,  and  sometimes  may  be  tempted  to  think  it 
fit  only  for  children.  But  if  you  stick  to  it  you  will  be 
respected  by  any  set  of  men  whose  opinion  is  in  the  least 
worth  having.  The  wilder  they  are,  the  better  they 
will  like  you,  provided  you  don't  try  to  impose  your  ideas 
on  them.  Remember  that.  Charity  and  tolerance 
are  absolutely  necessary  virtues  to  him  who  would  get 
on  well  with  his  fellows  ;  but  indeed  they  are  most 
becoming  to  him  who  stands  least  in  need  of  them. 

"  The  other  thing  is  that  your  duty  comes  before 
everything.  That  sounds  like  a  threadbare  saw,  and 
is  often  in  men's  mouths,  but  is  seldom  really  appre 
ciated.  Many  a  man  who  would  lead  a  forlorn  hope, 
will  shirk  on  a  rainy  night,  and  I  think  most  men  will 
desert  an  obscure  post  for  the  sake  of  winning  glory. 
Nine  times  out  of  ten  also,  they  will  get  the  world's 
applause  for  doing  so,  in  spite  of  the  threadbare  pre 
cept.  If  you  ever  do  that  you  will  break  my  heart, 
even  though  you  be  cheered  on  the  streets.  I  care  no 
more  about  your  courage  than  I  do  about  the  rest  of 
your  plain  honour.  I  take  it  for  granted.  Its  possession 
is  a  necessity  to  you,  not  a  distinction.  I  should  as  soon 
think  of  praising  you  for  not  cheating  at  cards  as  of 
praising  you  for  not  being  a  coward.  But  to  forsake 
all  other  things  and  cleave  only  to  duty  is  often  hard 


Into  the  World.  59 

for  anyone.  If  you  always  do  that,  I  shall  be  proud  of 
you  no  matter  what  your  success  or  rewards  may  be. 
Stay  where  you  are  put,  do  all  that  you  are  told,  and 
let  glory  take  care  of  itself." 

And  so  Captain  Brunt  went  back  alone  to  Bayhamp- 
ton  and  thought  all  the  time  about  his  boy.  And  Smith 
remained  on  shipboard,  and  in  spare  moments  and 
night  watches  thought  often  of  his  father  and  more 
often  of  Grace  Temble.  He  determined  to  follow 
always  his  father's  advice  about  duty  ;  but  hoped  that, 
incidentally  at  least,  the  glory  might  come  to  him. 
That  would  mean  a  smile  from  those  eyes,  and  a  word 
of  praise  from  that  perfect  mouth.  And  when  that 
prospect  rose  before  him,  he  did  not  exactly  wish  for 
war,  but  hoped  that  if  it  was  coming  at  all  it  would 
hurry.  Here  !  Captain  Brunt  !  here  is  your  dutiful 
midshipman  already  wanting  the  country  to  plunge 
into  war,  so  that  he  can  have  a  chance  to  attract  a  pair 
of  lovely  eyes.  Ah  well,  older  men  have  done  the 
same  for  meaner  ambitions. 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN  WHICH    THE    LIEUTENANT    COMES    HOME. 

TOWARDS  the  close  of  an  afternoon  in  September  of 
the  year  1812,  a  group  of  men  stood  in  front  of  the 
store  at  Bayhampton.  It  was  not  the  regular  evening 
meeting,  but  aa  earlier  gathering  on  the  way  home  from 
work,  caused  by  the  expectation  of  the  weekly  stage  from 
town.  That  attraction,  however,  was  apparently  over 
shadowed  for  the  moment  by  some  other,  for  the  meet 
ing  had  turned  all  its  backs  upon  the  South  Country 
Road,  and  all  its  faces  toward  the  store  porch.  Indeed, 
the  stage  finally  arrived  unnoticed,  and  deposited  two 
passengers.  While  one  of  these  settled  accounts  with 
the  driver,  the  other  unloaded  some  baggage  and  then 
walked  across  the  road  unobserved,  and,  leaning 
against  the  pump,  looked  over  the  shoulders  of  the 
group  at  the  center  of  interest. 

On  the  porch  of  the  store  stood  a  man  with  hair  fiery 
red  and  beard  of  the  same  warm  color.  He  was  deep- 
sea  rigged  in  loose  trousers,  short  jacket,  broad  belt, 
and  a  long  night-cap  drooped  over  one  ear.  Behind  him 
on  the  wall  of  the  store  a  large  poster  announced 
that  good  men  and  true,  and  particularly  able  seamen, 
were  wanted  by  the  U.  S.  Navy,  and  urged  all  such  to 
come  forward  for  the  honor  of  the  flag,  twelve  dollars 
a  month,  and  a  fair  share  of  all  prize  money.  This 
appeal,  however,  was  being  seconded  in  no  way  by  the 
seafaring  person,  who  was  evidently  no  man-o'-war's 
man,  but  a  decided  irregular, 
bo 


The   Lieutenant  Comes   Home.         61 

"Aye,  that  sound  swell,"  he  was  saying,  "  but  there's 
nary  a  word  about  the  work, — about  scrubbing  and 
polishin',  and  drillin',  and  all  the  rest  of  the  poppycock, 
and  bein'  horsed  round  by  little  dandies  in  gold  lace. 

"  Six  days  shalt  thou  work,  as  hard  as  thou  art  able, 
On  the  seventh,  holystone  the  deck,  and  overhaul 
the  cable. 

"  That's  their  commandments,  and  don't  you  forget 
it.  But  that  ain't  the  way  we  do  on  a  privateer.  No, 
sir.  Ah,  that's  the  life  for  free  men  and  lads  of  spirit. 
You  there,  with  the  gun,  what  are  you  chasin'  little 
birds  for  when  you  might  be  shootin'  big  game  like  I'm 
tellin'  you  about  ?  You'd  be  just  the  bully  for  a  priva 
teer." 

This  last  remark  was  addressed  to  a  lanky  young 
man,  whose  very  bright  eyes  might  have  seen  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  summers,  and  who  stood  near  by  with  a 
fowling-piece  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  and  a  bunch  of 
snipe  in  his  hand, 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno.  Yeller-legs  don't  shoot  back,"  was 
the  answer.  "I've  got  a  kind  o'  prejudice  agin'  lead 
in  the  stomach." 

"  That's  so,  Carm,"  added  one  of  the  Smiths.  "  It 
never  digests  good." 

At  these  observations  the  sailor  spat,  as  a  bold  man 
should,  but  maintained  a  persuasive  tone.  "  Oh,  well," 
he  replied,  "  of  course,  if  you  don't  want  to  take  no 
chances  at  all,  you  can  lie  abed  all  your  life  until  you 
choke  with  cobwebs.  But  you  needn't  be  so  terrible 
scared  of  our  service.  If  you  was  workin'  for  the  Gov 
ernment  now,  you'd  likely  get  more  iron  than  gold  in 
your  clothes.  But  it's  your  soft  fat  merchantmen  that 


62  Smith  Brunt. 

we're  after.  Five  of  'em  in  three  months.  What  do 
you  think  o'  that  alongside  o'  diggin'  clams  ?  " 

"  How  did  you  get  time  to  do  it  ? "  queried  the 
sportsman.  "You've  just  been  a-tellin'  how  you  spent 
every  fine  day  a-lickin'  the  British  Navy.  That's  what 
scared  me  so." 

"  And  well  it  might,  you  long-shore  clam  digger," 
exclaimed  the  privateersman,  losing  his  temper.  "  Of 
course  we  can  fight  when  we  want  to.  Every  man's 
liver  ajn't  so  white  as  yours." 

"  Guess  that's  so,  cap,"  drawled  the  other.  "  If  you 
always  keep  your  mouth  open  so  much,  your  own  liver 
must  be  considerable  sunburned." 

"  I'll  let  daylight  into  yours,  *you  grinning  monkey, 
if  you  get  too  smart  "  growled  the  seaman,  and  address 
ing  himself  to  the  rest  continued  :  "  Come,  now, 
you're  not  all  like  this  chicken-hearted  clown.  Who'll 
come  make  hay  while  the  sun  shines  ?  This  here  war 
won't  last  forever,  and  you'd  better  get  your  spoons 
into  the  puddm'  while  you  can.  All  the  fun  and  for 
tune  of  a  buccaneer's  cruise,  and  glory  instead  of  the 
gallows  at  the  end  of  it.  Think  of  all  the  East  Indy 
and  Jamaica  cargoes  all  over  the  ocean  to  be  had  just 
for  the  sailin'  after  'em.  They'll  all  be  under  convoy 
before  long,  or  else  the  fancy  navy'll  be  knocked  into 
a  cocked  hat  and  the  war'll  be  over.  It's  worth  a  life 
time  of  oysterin'  to  get  an  Indiaman  under  your  guns, 
if  only  for  the  pleasure  of  it.  Come,  who's  with  us  ?  " 

"  'Pears  to  me  you're  about  right  in  sayin'  that  sort 
o'  thing  is  in  the  line  o'  bucaneerin',  "  remarked  the 
oldest  bayman.  "  Gettin'  rich  by  killin'  folks,  without 
doin'  the  country  no  great  service,  don't  seem  to  me  to 
be  a  trade  to  blow  much  about." 

"  That's  all  cursed  cant,  old  parson, "  retorted  the 


The  Lieutenant  Comes   Home.         63 

stranger.  "  Wasn't  you  proud  of  your  privateers  in  the 
old  war  ?  What  was  Paul  Jones  himself  but  a  priva- 
teersman,  I'd  like  to  know  ?  " 

"The  reg'larest  commissioned  officer  that  ever  flew 
a  pennant,"  came  a  deep  voice  from  the  rear  of  the 
crowd.  "  That's  your  worst  lie  yet  and  your  last. 
Bear  not  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor,  particu 
larly  when  he  wasn't  no  neighbor  of  yourn,  nor  any 
like  you.  Now  you've  got  to  stop  this." 

"  Who  dares  say  '  lie  '  to  me,  and  who'll  make  me 
stop  ?  "  cried  the  sailor  furiously,  while  all  turned  in 
the  direction  of  the  voice. 

Above  the  group  slowly  rose  a  head,  so  high  that 
its  owner  might  have  seemed  to  be  standing  on  an 
elevation,  had  not  the  shoulders  that  followed  been 
broad  in  proportion  to  their  height  from  the  ground. 

"  It's  Ben  !  Ben  Orrin  !  "  were  the  exclamations 
at  this  appearance.  "  When  did  you  get  here  ?  Tell 
us  about  the  fight  !  How  are  you  ?  Hurrah  for  the 
Constitution  !  " 

"All  in  good  time,  friends,"  replied  the  giant,  push 
ing  his  way  through  the  crowd  of  eager  faces  and 
outstretched  hands.  "Wait  till  I've  done  with  this 
half-breed  pirate.  Now,  thou  ungodly  tempter,  I'll 
have  no  rascally  privateer  swabs  hanging  round  this 
village.  Stopper  your  jaw  and  clear  out  of  here." 

"Who  is  fouling  you?  Ain't  there  freedom  of 
speech  in  this  place?"  demanded  the  red-haired  man, 
in  a  tone  rather  more  deprecating  than  defiant,  however, 
as  he  noted  the  proportions  of  the  new  comer.  "Who 
are  you,  anyhow,  to  be  givin'  orders  like  that  ?  Stand 
clear,"  and  he  laid  his  hand  on  a  knife  in  his  belt,  "  or, 
by I'll  board  your  big  hulk  !  " 

"Swear  not,"  quoth  Orrin,  deliberately,  and  seized 


64  Smith   Brunt. 

the  knife  hand  as  it  drew  the  weapon.  Then  catching 
the  man's  other  wrist  also,  he  united  both  in  his  right 
hand,  as  one  might  hold  a  naughty  child,  and  with  his 
left  hand  picked  up  his  opponent  by  the  slack  of  the 
trousers.  The  privateersman  was  too  frightened  at 
such  overwhelming  strength  to  even  curse,  and  Orrin 
bore  him  easily  through  the  jeering  crowd  toward  the 
pump.  Just  then  the  other  passenger  of  the  stage 
came  upon  the  scene  of  this  comedy. 

"Hold  on  there!  What  are  you  up  to,  Ben?"  he 
cried.  "In  a  fight  the  first  thing?  That's  a  nice 
neighborly  way  to  come  home.  Who's  that  you're  tric 
ing  up  ? " 

"  A  boasting,  piratical  skulk,  sir.  His  mouth  is  full 
of  vain  imaginings,  and  I  purpose  to  wash  it  out,  the 
Lord  willing,  and  if  you've  no  objections,"  and  Orrin 
held  his  captive's  head  down  over  the  horse-trough. 

"  But  I  have  an  objection.    What  has  he  been  doing  ?  " 

"  Crimping  for  a  sneaking  privateer,  right  here  in 
your  own  home,  under  our  very  noses,"  was  the  indig 
nant  explanation. 

"  That  is  very  wicked,  I  admit,  but  you  had  better 
let  him  go,  or  Squire  Lawrence  will  have  you  up  for  a 
breach  of  the  peace." 

"  What'll  the  service  do,  I'd  like  to  know,  if  these 
rogues  can  go  up  and  down  the  earth  like  roaring  lions 
seeking  whom  they  may  devour,  and  leaving  no  one  for 
us  to  get  ?  " 

"  There's  no  danger  of  his  repeating  the  offence 
while  you  are  here,"  replied  the  other.  "Now,  my 
friend,"  he  continued,  to  the  red-haired  man,  as  Orrin 
with  low  grumbling  released  him,  "  you  had  better  take 
yourself  out  of  this  village.  I  won't  interpose  to  save 
you  again.  Any  man  who  ships  from  here  will  go  with 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.         65 

honest  men  in  the  service.     Isn't  that  so,  boys  ?     How 
are  you  all  ?  " 

With  a  venomous  glance  at  his  preserver,  the  routed 
privateersman  slunk  away  unnoticed  by  the  men,  who 
were  pressing  with  greetings  and  questions  around  the 
new  comers. 

The  taller  of  these  has  already  been  announced  by 
deed  as  well  as  by  name,  Orrin,  the  gigantic  castaway 
of  the  Iroquois.  The  other,  as  the  reader  may  have 
already  surmised,  is  none  other  than  Smith  Brunt,  now 
full  grown,  and  a  third  lieutenant  in  the  United  States 
navy.  His  appearance  has  changed  a  good  deal,  natu 
rally,  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  twenty-two,  but 
not  so  much  that  he  can  not  be  readily  recognized  as  the 
same  boy,  still  nice-looking,  as  the  expression  is,  and  still 
far  from  handsome.  He  has  grown  to  about  the  medium 
height,  certainly  not  over  it,  and  his  figure  is  still  too 
slight  for  beauty,  but  his  sunburned  face  has  been  ren 
dered  a  shade  more  interesting,  perhaps,  by  the  habit 
of  responsibility  and  command,  and  is  no  less  pleasant 
to  look  upon.  During  these  years  he  has  seen  some 
thing  of  foreign  countries  and  strange  sights,  but  noth 
ing  of  adventure  beyond  the  usual  perils  of  the  sea. 

About  three  months  before  the  day  of  which  we 
write,  however,  an  event  had  come  to  pass  that  prom 
ised  excitement  enough  for  every  one  in  the  service. 
The  smouldering  embers  of  the  Chesapeake-Leopard 
affair  had  been  fed  with  fagot  after  fagot  by  the  cap 
tains  of  the  great  English  navy,  reckless  in  their  need 
of  men,  and  with  an  occasional  spark  by  our  own 
incensed  officers,  until  at  last  they  burst  into  irrepressi 
ble  flame,  and  on  June  18,  1812,  Congress  had  declared 
war  against  Great  Britain.  At  once  the  little  fleet  had 
rushed  out  of  New  York,  the  young  commanders  (there 


66  Smith   Brunt. 

were  few  over  thirty-five),  trained  in  the  Barbary  wars 
and  long  prepared  for  the  seemingly  desperate  strug 
gle,  all  eager  to  show  what  they  could  do  against  the 
Goliath  of  the  seas.  The  results  of  that  first  sally 
were  but  meagre.  Rodgers'  squadron  missed  the  ex 
pected  Jamaica  fleet,  and  after  sixty  days  returned  to 
Boston  with  little  for  prize,  and  nothing  of  which  to 
tell  but  the  unsuccessful  chase  of  a  single  frigate. 

Our  young  lieutenant  had  cruised  up  and  down  the 
coast  on  the  Essex,  32,  with  the  visions  of  glory,  pro 
motion,  and,  above  all,  vindication,  common  to  all  his 
brethren.  His  ship  had  done  better  than  the  squadron, 
having  captured  a  sloop-of-war  and  several  private 
ships,  cut  a  trooper  out  of  a  convoy,  and  offered  battle 
to  the  guardian  frigate,  which  offer  had  been  very 
properly  declined,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  both  the 
American  and  captured  English  officers  on  the  Essex. 
At  the  end  of  the  cruise  there  was  prize  money  to  be 
shared,  but  nothing  that  could  begin  to  satisfy  the 
nobler  aspirations  of  our  young  sailor  and  his  ship 
mates,  although  the  newspapers,  of  course,  made  much 
of  the  capture  of  the  first  man-of-war,  and  contained  a 
great  deal  about  gallant  Yankee  tars,  etc.,  all  of  which 
Jack  read  with  his  tongue  in  his  cheek.  The  Essex 
had  put  into  the  Deleware  to  refit  for  a  long  cruise,  and 
Smith  had  received  two  weeks'  leave.  On  his  way 
home  through  New  York  he  had  met  with  Ben  Orrin, 
who  had  a  better  tale  to  tell.  And  this  brings  us  to  the 
history  of  that  mysterious  seaman,  since  last  we  saw  him. 

Orrin's  previous  career  was  as  much  as  ever  a  mys 
tery  in  Bayhampton,  but  long  before  this  everyone  had 
given  up  the  conundrum  and  accepted  him  as  a  regular 
inhabitant.  On  his  part  he  showed  no  desire  to  move 
elsewhere  or  return  to  the  sea.  For  a  long  time  he 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.         67 

continued  to  work  for  Mr.  Lawrence  and  devoted  all 
his  spare  moments  to  Teddy.  Sea  and  land  he  laid 
under  contribution  to  the  baby,  and  when  the  boy 
outgrew  the  delights  of  shells  and  flowers,  constructed 
whole  navies  of  toy  boats,  and  taught  him  all  the 
mysteries  of  the  rigger's  art.  Mr.  Lawrence  grumbled 
at  times  but  having  no  jealousy  in  his  nature  really 
loved  the  old  viking  for  his  devotion  to  the  child. 
"  Confound  the  old  crimp,"  the  squire  declared  to 
Captain  Brunt.  "  He  fills  Teddy  up  all  day  long  with 
stories  of  shipwrecks  and  sea-fights,  until  I'm  afraid 
the  boy'll  be  running  off  to  sea  before  the  six  years  are 
up.  The  worst  of  it  is  I  can't  find  fault  with  him,  for 
his  yarns  are  always  highly  moral  and  patriotic. 
Teddy  has  conceived  no  ambition  to  be  a  pirate,  but 
thinks  himself  a  great  commodore  already.  I  don't 
know  how  I  can  ever  let  him  go  when  that  awful  time 
comes." 

One  fine  day  Orrin  did  a  thing  that  caused  more  ex 
citement  and  comment  than  had  followed  even  his 
advent  on  the  beach, — an  act  that  was  generally  con 
sidered  bolder  than  any  credited  to  him  in  all  his 
storied  career.  He  married  Aunt  Hepsy  Carman  ! 
At  about  the  same  time  he  joined  the  church.  Whether 
religion  drew  him  to  Hephzibah,  or  she  drew  him  to 
religion,  never  was  decided.  A  strong  party  supported 
each  view.  Carman  Hawkins  advanced  the  theory 
that  the  sailor  had  been  a  very  bad  man  in  his  day, 
and  when  his  eyes  were  opened  had  married  Hepsy,  as 
a  kind  of  a  burnt-sacrifice  ;  but  Carman  abjured  this 
doctrine,  when  it  got  to  the  ears  of  his  aunt  and 
immediately  afterwards  to  those  of  his  new  uncle.  To 
tell  the  truth,  Carm  himself  was  probably  the  first  cause 
of  the  courtship,  for  Orrin  would  occasionally  catch 


68  Smith   Brunt. 

and  cuff  him  at  the  spinster's  request,  which  touched 
her  heart  and  made  her  think  how  useful  such  a  hus 
band  would  be.  In  turn  she  impressed  the  rough  sea 
man  by  an  interest  in  his  spiritual  welfare.  Bible 
lessons  followed,  and  from  Miss  Carman's  porch  on 
summer  evenings  drifted  forth  psalms  rendered  some 
what  after  the  manner  of  chanties.  Just  where  Dan 
Cupid  joined  in  the  good  work  could  not  be  ascer 
tained,  but  at  any  rate  Miss  Carman  finally  led  the 
tall  man-o'-war's  man  in  triumph  to  the  altar,  and  then 
into  the  fold  of  the  elect.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
disappointment  on  the  latter  occasion.  The  original 
suspicion  of  piracy  was  not  dead,  but  only  slumbering, 
and  the  church  was  crowded  by  reason  of  the  hope 
that  Orrin,  having  got  religion,  would  make  interesting 
confessions  as  to  his  past.  He  did  nothing  of  the 
kind,  however,  and  even  created  some  criticism  by 
retaining  his  pigtail  and  earrings,  which  were  con 
sidered  a  bit  unchristian  by  the  more  severe  church 
members.  He  insisted  that  these  ornaments  were  the 
ancient  marks  of  his  trade, — a  godly  one  and  no  shame 
to  a  true  believer.  Apart  from  these  pardonable 
vanities,  however,  there  could  be  no  more  devout  a 
convert  than  Benjamin  Orrin,  and  though  but  an 
indifferent  reader  he  studied  his  Bible  laboriously  and 
got  many  texts  by  heart,  albeit  at  times  confused. 

Thus  he  lived  contentedly  for  several  years,  until 
there  began  to  drift  into  Bayhampton  rumours  of 
impending  war.  Then  the  old  man  grew  moody  and 
restive.  After  war  was  finally  declared,  he  spent 
most  of  his  time  on  the  store  porch,  hailing  travelers 
on  the  South  Country  Road  for  news,  and  speaking 
the  weekly  stage.  One  day  the  latter  brought  two 
Southampton  sailor  men  on  their  way  home.  They 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.         69 

proved  to  be  man-o'-war's  men  belonging  to  the  frigate 
Constitution,  just  back  from  Europe.  Their  ship  was 
in  the  Chesapeake  getting  a  crew,  and  they  had  got  leave 
to  go  home  and  recruit  on  the  east  end  of  the  Island. 
Orrin  questioned  them  closely  as  to  their  ship's  com 
pany.  Captain  Hull  was  her  commander— Isaac  Hull. 
They  did  not  know  whether  or  not  he  had  been  first 
lieutenant  of  that  same  frigate  in  the  year  '4,  as 
none  of  their  shipmates  had  been  in  the  Tripolitan 
affair  ;  but  he  was  a  short,  broad  man,  and  a  marvel 
lous  good  seaman.  The  crew  would  be  mostly  new 
men,  for  the  ship  had  arrived  short-handed,  and  almost 
all  the  old  navy  men  returning  to  the  service  had 
already  shipped  and  sailed  in  the  fleet  under  Com 
modore  Rodgers. 

That  night  Mrs.  Orrin  heard  her  spouse  talk  in  his 
sleep,  as  he  had  done  since  the  news  of  war,  and 
ejaculate  "  A  fine  ship,"  "  eight  years,  eight  years,"  "  sel 
dom  on  the  Enterprise."  On  the  next  morning  he  an 
nounced  that  the  Lord  had  called  him  to  the  service 
again,  and  that  it  was  his  solemn  duty  to  go.  Aunt 
Hephzibah  had  been  expecting  something  of  the  kind 
and  acquiesced  sadly,  without  much  ado.  Carman 
Hawkins  hinted  that  if  the  fishing  got  any  worse,  he 
too  might  have  a  similar  summons  from  the  same 
source  ;  but  he  was  sternly  repressed,  and  told  to  stay 
home  and  take  care  of  his  aunt. 

So  the  old  sea-warrior  cast  off  from  the  moorings 
at  which  he  had  ridden  quietly  for  six  years,  and,  fitted 
for  this  cruise  with  a  muffler  and  a  Bible,  made  his  way 
to  Annapolis  in  time  to  join  the  frigate  Constitution  be 
fore  she  put  to  sea.  The  first  incident  of  the  cruise 
was  the  most  exciting  international  race  ever  sailed  off 
this  coast,  a  race  lasting  two  days,  wherein,  by  con- 


7<D  Smith   Brunt. 

summate  seamanship  and  strategy,  through  every  kind 
of  weather,  stout  Captain  Hull  succeeded  in  parting 
company  with  a  squadron  of  five  English  ships.  There 
was  more  credit  than  glory  in  this  achievement,  but 
shortly  afterwards  the  Constitution  caught  one  of  her 
pursuers  alone.  Half  an  hour  later  there  was  one  less 
British  frigate.  Strangely  enough  it  was  the  Guerriere, 
with  whose  commander,  Captain  Hull,  when  expecting 
war,  had  made  a  bet  in  case  the  two  should  meet. 
They  were  the  very  first  to  meet,  and  when  that  furi 
ous  meeting  was  over,  the  victor's  greeting  to  his  brave 
and  wounded  adversary  was  :  "  Keep  your  sword,  sir  ; 
I  cannot  take  it  from  a  man  who  knows  so  well  how  to 
use  it."  That  remark,  though  generous,  was  hardly 
original,  but  the  next  was  Hull's  own.  "  But  look  here, 
Dacres,  I'll  trouble  you  for  that  hat." 

Ben  Orrin  had  played  no  small  part  in  the  winning 
of  Captain  Hull's  new  hat,  and  upon  the  return  to  Bos 
ton  harbour  had  readily  obtained  leave.  The  six 
years  were  up  and  the  old  man  was  agog  for  his  heart's 
desire.  So  here  he  was  back  in  Bayhampton  more  not 
able  than  ever,  with  the  tale  of  the  first  victory,  and 
the  glory  of  it  all  about  him. 

As  soon  as  Smith  could  escape  from  his  eager  friends 
at  the  store,  he  took  passage  for  home  on  Raynor 
Terry's  farm  wagon.  On  approaching  Mr.  Lawrence's 
place,  they  observed  a  young  gentleman  of  about  ten 
years  of  age,  leaning  on  his  stomach  over  the  gate  and 
propelling  it  back  and  forth  by  the  tips  of  his  toes. 
He  was  too  old  to  be  indulging  in  this  amusement  for 
its  own  sake,  but  was  evidently  doing  it  merely  to  use 
up  time,  his  best  clothes,  and  the  hinges  of  the  gate. 
At  sight  of  the  wagon,  he  jumped  down  and  running 
out  on  the  road,  cried  : 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.          71 

"  Hi  !   Mr.  Terry,  give  us  a  ride." 

"  Hullo,  Teddy,"  answered  the  skipper  of  the  farm 
wagon.  "  Here's  somebody  you'll  be  glad  to  see." 

"  Smith  !  "  shouted  the  youngster.  "  Tell  us  about 
the  war  !  Did  you  kill  anybody  ?  " 

"  Not  that  I  know  of,"  laughed  Smith  :  "  my  hands 
are  quite  clean  of  gore.  How  are  you  ?  and  how  are 
your  father  and  mother  ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  answered  Teddy.  "  I'm  going  to  sea 
soon." 

"  Aren't  you  dressed  up  a  good  deal  this  evening  ? " 

"Yep.  We're  all  going  to  supper  at  your  house.  I 
was  just  waiting  for  papa  and  the  rest  of  'em  I'll  go 
along  with  you,"  and  Teddy,  fine  clothes,  clean  ruffles, 
and  all,  clambered  into  the  back  of  the  wagon  in  which 
Raynor  Terry  had  just  been  carting  Long  Island  an 
tiques,  such  as  bunkers,  sea-weed,  manure,  etc. 

"  Who  are  the  rest  of  them  ?  "  asked  Smith,  as  the 
wagon  got  under  way  again. 

"There's  Mr.  Temble,  and  Miss  Temble, — oh,  she's 
lovely,  isn't  she  ?  She  said  she  knew  you.  I'd  marry 
her  if  I  were  you." 

"  Perhaps  she  wouldn't  have  you,"  suggested  Smith, 
very  red.  "  What  did  she  say  about  me  ?  "  he  inquired, 
carelessly. 

"  Don't  remember  anything  else  special,"  replied 
Teddy.  "Herbert  de  Voe  is  here,  too." 

"  Oh,  is  he  ?     What  is  he  doing  now  ?  " 

"  He  is  captain  of  a  privateer.  I  always  thought  I'd 
like  to  be  captain  of  a  privateer.  I've  got  a  bully  book 
all  about  one,  but  Ben  Orrin  told  me  once  that  priv 
ateering  was  shameful,  and  I  guess  he  knows  as  much 
as  the  book.  Maybe  that's  why  old  Mr.  Temble  was 
so  mad  when  Cousin  Herbert  came.  I  don't  see  why 


72  Smith  Brunt. 

he  should  be  though,  'cause  he  owns  the  schooner  that 
Bert  sails,  but  I  heard  him  scolding  Bert  mightily 
about  something.  Haven't  you  done  any  fighting?" 

So  Teddy  prattled  on  until  they  arrived  at  Smith's 
home.  Captain  Brunt  had  not  seen  his  son  since  the 
outbreak  of  war,  and  showed  such  delight  in  his  hand 
some  face  as  to  make  Smith  almost  regret  the  career 
that  kept  him  away  from  such  a  father.  After  the 
first  greetings,  however,  the  captain  at  once  plunged 
into  questions,  and  by  his  interest  in  the  experiences 
and  hopes  of  his  boy  made  him  forget  their  cost. 

"So  you  see,  I  have  so  far  had  my  usual  luck,"  said 
Smith,  as  he  concluded  the  story  of  his  first  war  cruise. 
"  The  only  powder  I've  smelled  was  used  in  smashing 
the  poor  little  twenty  who  took  us  for  a  trader.  Now, 
tell  me  all  about  yourself  and  home.  Teddy  says  there 
are  visitors  at  the  Lawrences  who  are  coming  here  to 
tea." 

A  suspicion  of  a  smile  played  around  the  corners  of 
the  captain's  mouth  at  this  enlarged  inquiry  about  him 
self  and  home,  and  he  answered  : 

"  I  am  sorry  Teddy  spoiled  that  surprise.  When  I 
got  your  letter  I  invited  them  all  here  to  eat  the  fatted 
calf.  John  Temble  and  his  peerless  Grace  have  been 
with  Harry  for  some  time.  Since  his  wife's  death 
Temble  seems  to  cling  to  the  Lawrences,  and  no 
wonder,  for  they  are  the  best  pair  in  the  world  to  com 
fort  anyone.  Do  you  object  to  having  outsiders  here  on 
your  first  evening  ?  "  he  asked  mischievously. 

Smith,  with  a  very  forced  air  of  indifference,  said 
"  Not  in  the  least." 

"  Herbert  de  Voe  is  here,  too.  Temble  has  given 
him  command  of  a  privateer  that  he  has  fitted  out. 
He  has  always  thought  a  good  deal  of  Bert's  abilities, 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.         73 

you  know,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  boy  has  good 
qualities,  although  I  know  you  don't  like  him  and 
neither  do  I.  He  has  sailed  two  or  three  voyages,  as  a 
sort  of  gentleman  seaman,  on  one  of  Temble's  ships,  and 
was  complimented  highly  I  believe  by  the  master.  But 
between  you  and  me  I  think  old  Temble  would  rather 
have  Bert  on  his  schooner  than  in  his  house.  The 
young  man  is  more  attractive  to  the  daughter  than  to 
the  father.  Herbert  has  been  going  a  pretty  hard  pace 
for  the  last  year  or  two,  and  I  rather  think  has  about 
used  up  his  fortune.  With  this  privateer  he  may  re 
habilitate  himself." 

(l  Humph  !  "  growled  Smith.  "  That's  a  nice  way  to 
do  it.  Making  war  for  money." 

"  I  don't  altogether  like  it  myself,"  said  the  captain, 
"  but  there  have  been  so  many  things  that  I  view  dif 
ferently  from  other  people,  that  I  sometimes  fear  I 
must  be  very  eccentric.  My  own  prejudice  and  that 
of  you  naval  men  against  privateers  is  not  general, 
you  know,  throughout  the  country." 

"  Well,  by  George,  I  think  Mr.  Temble  might  use  his 
money  better  than  in  drawing  men  away  from  the  service 
for  his  private  gain  when  Lord  knows  we  shall  have 
need  enough  of  sailors  before  we  have  done." 

"  Bert  turned  up  yesterday,"  continued  Captain 
Brunt,  "and  said  he  had  come  here  to  recruit,  and 
that  the  schooner  was  at  the  inlet.  But  here  they  all 
are  at  the  gate  now.  Teddy,  let  that  hornet's  nest 
alone.  I  must  have  that  smoked  to-morrow." 

"  I'll  go  up  and  dress,"  said  Smith,  and  hurried  up 
stairs  to  change  his  clothes. 

For  nearly  six  years  the  image  of  Grace  Temble  had 
hardly  ever  been  out  of  the  young  sailor's  mind.  Ever 
since  filling  with  her  wonderful  beauty  the  throne  of 


74  Smith   Brunt. 

his  boyish  heart,  she  had  never  lost  that  dominion. 
Whenever  his  ship  had  been  at  New  York,  or  he  had 
received  leave  of  absence  he  would  go  and  worship 
with  timid  reverence  and  toilsome  conversation,  feel 
ing  all  the  while  painfully  awkward  and  stupid,  fearful 
that  he  might  be  boring  her,  and  yet  too  spell-bound 
to  tear  himself  away.  From  over  sea  he  brought  all 
sorts  of  humble  tribute,  and  never  saw  anything  beau 
tiful  on  his  cruises  that  he  did  not  try  to  secure  for  the 
shrine.  He  was  always  radiantly  happy  before  these 
pilgrimages,  but  gloomy  immediately  afterwards, 
rating  himself  for  a  stupid  fool  and  wondering  why 
he  should  always  be  so  bereft  of  wit  in  the  presence  of 
his  enchantress,  just  when  he  most  wanted  to  appear 
at  his  best.  When  away  from  her  he  was  really  more 
happy,  for  then  he  could  conjure  a  vision  and  contem 
plate  it  in  rapt  silence  without  fear  of  annoying  the 
original.  He  was  always  perfectly  contented  in  his 
lonely  night  watches.  At  such  times  he  would  imagine 
all  sorts  of  meetings,  rambles  together,  and  conversa 
tions  in  which  he  would  be  very  witty  and  entertain 
ing,  or  perilous  situations  in  which  he  would  be  of 
invaluable  assistance  and  would  receive — Heaven  ! — 
grateful  smiles  from  the  vision.  I  can  pretend  to  no 
originality  in  writing  thus  flippantly  of  a  poor  lad's  de 
votion.  It  has  often  been  laughed  at,  that  boy  love, 
but  after  all  it  is  a  pure  religion,  very  real  to  the  devotee, 
and  keeps  many  a  young  knight,  as  it  had  kept 
Smith  Brunt,  a  champion  fit  for  the  quest  of  the  San 
Greal. 

Smith  had  not  seen  his  angel  in  the  flesh  since  the 
war  began.  Just  before  the  Essex  sailed  he  had 
gone  to  take  an  affecting  farewell,  but  with  even  the 
inspiration  of  that  occasion  had  not  succeeded  in  lifting 


The  Lieutenant  Comes  Home.         75 

his  eloquence  above  the  words  :  "Well,  good-bye,  Miss 
Temble.  I  hope  I  shall  see  you  again  soon."  Now  he 
experienced  the  usual  anticipatory  thrills,  as  he  very 
carefully  washed  and  dressed,  and  tried  to  realize  that 
the  goddess  was  actually  in  his  own  father's  house.  He 
reflected  ruefully  that  he  had  passed  few  dangers  of 
which  to  tell  her,  but  the  war  was  only  just  begun  ;  he 
might  yet  come  home  a  captain  "  for  gallantry,"  or 
better  still,  die  at  the  head  of  boarders  with  her  letters 
over  his  heart,  (two  invitations  to  dinner  in  her 
father's  name  and  a  few  conventional  notes  of  thanks 
for  flowers).  He  retied  his  cravat  three  times  and  was 
mournfully  trying  to  brush  his  hair  in  some  way  that 
would  make  his  brown  face  a  little  less  homely,  when 
he  heard  a  shout  from  the  lawn.  Glancing  out  of  the 
window  over  the  piazza  roof,  he  saw  the  would-be 
Commodore  Lawrence  making  for  the  house  ahead  of  a 
swarm  of  boarders  that  he  had  stirred  out  of  the  hornet's 
nest  in  spite  of  Captain  Brunt's  injunction.  Right  in 
the  course  of  the  chase,  apparently  unmindful  of  it 
stood  Miss  Temble.  In  a  second  Smith  had  seized  a 
towel,  crossed  the  piazza  roof,  slid  down  a  post  to  the 
ground,  and  with  the  towel  high  brandished  dashed 
between  the  lady  and  the  impending  danger.  A  swoop 
of  his  weapon  delayed  the  onset  long  enough  for  the 
imperilled  damsel  to  come  to  an  understanding  of 
Teddy's  cries  and  to  flee  with  him  behind  the  barrier  of 
the  fly-screen  door,  followed  by  but  one  or  two  of  the 
hornet  vanguard,  who  were  quickly  dispatched. 

But  outside  the  fortress  arose  a  struggle  grim  and 
great.  Coatless,  and  handicapped  by  skin-tight  knee 
breeches  fearfully  vulnerable  to  the  foe,  Smith  in  his 
actions  looked  anything  but  heroic.  Escaping  at  last 
around  the  corner  of  the  house,  he  entered,  hot,  red. 


76  Smith  Brunt. 

and  much  stung,  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  hall.  Miss 
Temble  received  him  with  a  peal  of  laughter,  but  grac 
iously  held  out  her  hand.  "  Oh,  Mr.  Brunt,  how  do 
you  do?  Please  forgive  me  for  laughing,  but  you  did 
look  so  funny.  Did  they  hurt  you  much  ?" 

"Oh,  no,  not  much,"  lied  Smith,  and  joined  in  the 
merriment  as  well  as  he  could  with  a  swollen  lip. 

"  Hullo,  Smith  !  "  exclaimed  Herbert  de  Voe,  coming 
out  of  the  library,  whence  he  had  witnessed  the  en 
counter.  "What  a  magnificent  sight  you  are  in  action. 
You  ought  to  have  your  portrait  painted  in  that  scene 
for  the  sake  of  posterity.  Brunt  defying  the  hornets  !  " 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WHAT    HAPPENED    ON    THE    BEACH. 

T^HE  fortnight  following  Smith's  return  brought  con- 
*  trary  moods  to  several  of  the  people  of  Bayhamp- 
ton.  Master  Teddy  was  wildly  happy,  for  the  same 
reason  that  Mr.  Lawrence  was  quite  the  reverse.  The 
squire  kept  his  word  to  Ben  Orrin  faithfully,  though 
with  loud  complaints  ;  but  upon  one  point  he  insisted 
— namely,  that  Teddy  should  sail  on  the  Essex,  instead 
of  on  Orrin's  ship,  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Lawrence  had 
never  met  Captain  Hull,  but  knew  Captain  Porter  well, 
and  also  wished  the  youngster  to  be  on  the  same  ship 
with  Smith.  Furthermore,  Smith  had  given  a  very 
good  report  of  the  whole  ship's  company,  especially  of 
the  midshipmen  and  their  guardian  chaplain  who  took 
good  care  of  their  education.  Old  Ben  was  deeply  dis 
appointed  at  not  having  his  darling  under  his  eye,  but 
acknowledged  the  wisdom  of  the  decision. 

"  There's  little  an  old  Jack  Tar  like  me  could  do  for 
him  after  all,"  he  admitted,  "  but  talk  to  him  now  and 
then  on  deck,  when  he'd  be  clear  of  mischief  anyhow, 
and  maybe  keep  a  cutlash  off  his  head  if  it  came  to 
rough  work.  But  there's  worse  enemies  for  a  lad  than 
them  that  come  with  pike  and  pistol.  I'd  have  no  call 
to  come  between  him  and  Satan,  bein'  as  how  my  place 
is  for'ard,  but  Mr.  Brunt  he  can.  Many  a  fine  young 
lad  has  gone  wrong,  who'd  have  made  a  good  officer  and 
proper  gentleman  if  it  had'nt  been  for  bad  company  in 

77 


78  Smith   Brunt. 

the  steerage,  and  no  one  of  his  own  kind  to  keep  an 
eye  on  him.  No,  no,  you're  right,  sir.  Let  the  boy 
sail  under  good  convoy,  till  he  gets  his  compasses  all 
straight  and  his  rigging  all  stretched.  I'd  have  liked  to 
see  him  grow  up  to  his  commission,"  he  added  sadly, 
"  and  watched  him  on  the  quarter-deck  ;  but  when  my 
time  is  up  on  the  Constitution,  perhaps  I'll  get  a  chance 
to  ship  with  him." 

So  a  midshipman's  berth  on  the  Essex,  already  prom 
ised,  was  engaged  by  a  letter  to  Captain  Porter,  and 
after  that  Ted  rarely  stood  on  both  feet  at  once,  except 
when  he  thought  on  future  dignity.  Gentle  Mrs.  Law 
rence  busied  herself  with  the  young  man's  wardrobe, 
and  in  the  more  difficult  task  of  soothing  her  husband. 
She  herself  had  taken  Teddy  into  her  heart  as  deeply, 
though  less  noisily. 

At  the  neighboring  house  the  position  of  moods  was 
reversed.  Captain  Brunt  was  supremely  happy  in  the 
possession  of  his  son  ;  but  the  latter  was  in  a  terribly 
confused  state  of  mind,  being  not  quite  sure  whether 
this  was  the  happiest  time  of  his  life  or  the  most  miser 
able.  De  Voe  went  back  to  his  schooner  soon  after 
Smith's  arrival,  but  the  other  two  visitors  remained 
with  Mr.  Lawrence.  So  here  was  the  devotee  never 
more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  goddess,  and  usually 
much  nearer.  Even  when  the  snipe  were  flying  he 
would  spend  all  day  at  his  devotions,  to  the  deep  dis 
approval  of  Carman  Hawkins.  Sailing  and  fishing,  and 
all  kinds  of  gentle  pursuits  did  Smith  arrange  for  the 
fair  lady's  amusement.  Never  had  he  realized  the  full 
joy  of  crabbing  until  he  "  scapped  "  that  noble  game 
clinging  to  her  line.  And  yet,  foolish  boy,  he  could 
not  let  well  enough  alone,  but  must  needs  dash  into  the 
thing  he  dreaded.  Several  times  he  beat  to  quarters, 


On  the  Beach.  79 

but  each  time  at  the  critical  moment  lost  courage,  put 
down  his  helm,  and  went  off  on  another  tack.  Then 
he  would  be  miserable,  and  call  himself  a  rank  coward. 
His  time  grew  shorter  and  shorter,  and  was  almost 
gone,  when  at  last  he  succeeded  in  bringing  himself 
into  action.  With  a  desperate  effort  he  blurted  it  all 
out,  his  whole  broadside,  and  oh  !  how  wretched  was 
his  ammunition,  and  how  short  fell  every  shot.  All 
the  fine  things  he  had  thought  up  utterly  fizzled,  and 
nothing  carried  fair  but  the  three  old,  old  words,  fol 
lowed  by  a  sort  of  frightened  apology.  Then,  with 
bowed  head,  he  waited  for  the  blow. 

She  was  very  gentle.  Despite  the  lightness  of  her 
nature,  Grace  Temble  was  not  vain  enough  to  be  cruel. 
She  felt  truly  sorry  for  her  young  adorer,  and  had 
even  tried  her  best  to  keep  him  from  the  point  toward 
which  she  had  seen  him  struggling  ;  but  her  delicate 
defences  had  served  only  to  delay  his  blind  approach. 
Even  now  he  worshipped  her  all  the  more  for  her 
sweetness,  and  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  relinquish 
ing  the  struggle.  But  for  the  present,  at  least,  he  did 
not  dare  to  look  on  her  face.  He  felt  that  he  must  haul 
off  to  refit.  Half  an  hour  later,  while  stalking  fiercely 
along  the  shore,  he  fell  in  with  Carman  Hawkins. 

"  Carm,"  he  exclaimed,  hoarsely,  "  I  want  to  go  to 
the  beach." 

"  Well,  I  thought  it  was  pretty  near  time,"  com 
mented  Carman.  "  Raynor  Terry  and  me  killed  forty 
big  birds  day  before  yesterday  when  I  wanted  you  to 
go,  four  of  'em  jacks." 

"Well,  let's  go  across  to-night,  so  as  to  be  set  out  by 
daylight." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  said  Carm,  shaking  his  head. 
"  'Taint  no  great  weather  for  gunnin*  now.  Not  a  bit 


8o  Smith  Brunt. 

of  dew  and  dead  clear.  I  look  for  a  light  northerly 
air  to-morrer  mornin'." 

"  I  don't  care.  I'm  going  anyway  and  you  can  come 
along  or  not,  as  you  like." 

Carm  did  like,  and  the  two  went  across  the  bay  that 
night  in  the  old  Dowicher.  It  was  perhaps  well  for 
Smith  that  there  was  no  moon,  which  luminary  i.s  bad 
for  a  man  in  his  condition.  Carman  Hawkins  rejoiced 
verbosely  at  regaining  his  old  friend  and  pupil,  but  with 
all  his  volubility  scarcely  relieved  Smith's  gloom.  The 
following  day,  as  Carm  had  predicted,  was  but  ill 
adapted  to  snipe  shooting.  They  had  a  few  shots  in 
the  early  morning,  however,  and  once  a  bunch  of  great 
winter  yellow  legs  came  fairly  over  the  stool  and 
Smith  killed  double  with  his  right  barrel,  and  wiped 
Carm's  eye  with  his  left,  and  for  a  moment  became 
actually  jubilant.  Lest  the  uneducated  reader  should 
take  too  literally  the  statement  in  regard  to  Carman's 
eye,  be  it  explained  that  "  wiping  the  eye  "  of  a  com 
panion,  in  the  language  of  South  Bay  venery,  signifies 
killing  a  bird  that  the  said  companion  has  missed,  a 
service  seldom  performed  for  Mr.  Carman  Hawkins. 
Yet  on  this  day,  somehow  or  other,  Carm  allowed  it  to 
happen  three  times,  much  to  Smith's  satisfaction. 
Still  the  latter  was  but  a  melancholy  sportsman — be 
tween  shots. 

The  breeze  grew  lighter  and  lighter,  and  by  mid-day 
not  a  bird  was  flying.  Nevertheless  Smith  insisted  on 
waiting  for  the  evening  shot.  Carm  was  perfectly 
happy  to  lie  on  his  elbow  in  the  sedge  grass,  but  in  the 
afternoon  prophesied  uncertainties  about  supper  if  they 
remained  longer. 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,  "  he  averred,  looking  over  the  flat 
surface  of  the  bay,  and  seaward  over  the  sandhills  at  a 


On  the  Beach.  81 

pair  of  topsails  close  in  to  the  beach  and  almost  sta 
tionary.  "There  won't  be  a  breath  at  sundown  and 
we'll  be  lucky  if  we  get  home  to-night  at  all." 

**  Well,  there  is  no  use  in  starting  now,"  replied 
Smith.  "  It  is  almost  a  dead  calm  out  in  the  bay. 
Look  at  those  fellows  over  by  Old  Duck  Drain. 
They're  all  using  their  setting  poles  now." 

Carm  looked  in  the  direction  indicated.  About  two 
miles  distant  lay  a  fleet  of  ten  or  a  dozen.  To  Smith 
there  seemed  nothing  unusual  in  the  sight  at  that  sea 
son  of  the  year,  but  the  bayman  rose  to  his  feet  with 
an  exclamation  : 

"What  in  thunder  are  all  those  fellers  doin'  out 
there  ? " 

"  Oystering,  of  course,"  answered  Smith. 

"  No,  no,"  contradicted  Carm.  "  Oysterin'  nothin'. 
First  place,  there  ain't  no  oysters  where  them  boats  be. 
Second  place,  there's  some  there  that  never  goes  oys- 
terin',  There's  Raynor  Terry — he  ain't  oysterin'  ;  and 
there's  the  Susie  P.,  and  the  Wicks,  and  the  Broadbill — 
they  ain't  oysterin'.  Third  place,  nobody's  takin'  up  a 
great  deal  of  oysters  this  year,  anyway,  just  for  the 
good  of  the  British  Navy.  It's  as  much  as  a  man's 
boat  is  worth  to  put  her  nose  outside  o'  the  inlet.  I 
run  one  load  around  last  month  and  got  chased  twice; 
had  to  put  into  Gilgo  and  Jones's  and  got  around 
Coney  Island  point  about  six  inches  ahead  of  a  darned 
big  cannon-ball.  Them  round  shot  can  sail  very  fast 
and  close  to  the  wind — did  you  ever  notice  it?  Made 
me  so  mad  I  come  pretty  near  shippin'  in  the  Navy. 
Don't  know  but  I'll  have  to  any  how  if  things  keep  on 
this  way,  though  I  aint  much  of  a  gallant  hero.  Oh,  I 
tell  you,  it's  a  bare  stretch  along  this  beach  now-a- 
days.  That  schooner  is  the  first  sail  I've  seen  out 


82  Smith   Brunt. 

there  for  quite  some  time.  She'll  have  trouble,  too,  if 
the  breeze  comes  southerly  and  brings  a  two-decker 
along  with  it,  and  the  tide  is  wrong  for  her  to  slip  into 
the  inlet.  Like  enough,  though,  she's  a  privateer  her 
self  ;  her  topmasts  are  pretty  long.  Them  privateers- 
men  has  a  nice  taste  for  oysters,  too,  whichever  colors 
they  sail  under.  But  what  in  thunder  do  them  fellers 
out  in  the  bay  think  they're  a-doin'  ?  A  lot  of  'em's 
out  in  boats  now — see  'em.  Looks  as  if  they  might  be 
haulin'  nets  or  something.  Must  be  pretty  nice  fish  to 
bring  'em  out  like  that.  Maybe  they've  found  the  sea 
serpent." 

Thus  Carman  rattled  on,  but  did  not  rouse  Smith's 
curiosity  sufficiently  to  make  him  take  up  the  decoys. 
The  sun  went  down  in  a  dead  calm.  Smith  was  too 
well  brought  up  to  shoot  after  sunset,  but  still  objected 
to  starting  for  home.  They  would  have  to  shove  the 
Dowicher  all  the  way,  at  least  three  miles,  and  their 
setting  pole  was  not  long  enough  to  use  well  after 
leaving  the  flats.  They  would  be  very  late  for  supper 
anyway,  he  argued,  and  might  as  well  wait  for  a  breeze 
and  save  the  work  of  poling. 

"  But  we  don't  know  how  long  the  breeze'll  be  a-com- 
in',  and  my  insides  is  like  the  bottomless  pit "  pleaded 
Carm.  "  We  were  dern  fools  to  eat  up  all  the  lunch  at 
noon.  We  can  shove  near  enough  to  those  boats  to 
holler  to  them  and  get  a  pair  of  oars." 

"  No,  we  can't,"  replied  Smith.  "  They're  all  shov 
ing  home  now.  I  am  as  hungry  as  you  are.  Tell  you 
what  we  will  do,"  he  added  suddenly.  "  Let's  go  over 
to  the  old  Coons'  shanty  and  get  something  to  eat 
there,  or  better  yet,  cook  some  of  these  birds  there." 

"'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  cried  Carm,  hastily.  "  I  believe 
I'd  most  rather  starve  than  go  near  that  place  after 


On  the   Beach.  83 

dark.     By  jiggers,  they'd  like  as  not  turn  you  into  a 
yellow-leg  yourself  and  eat  you." 

Smith  laughed  long  and  loud  at  finding  that  Carm 
really  stood  in  superstitious  fear  of  the  Beach  Coons. 
Carm  was  finally  teazed  and  laughed  into  consenting, 
but  was  very  slow  about  getting  the  boat  around  and 
the  stool  in,  hoping  that  the  wished-for  breeze  might 
come  to  his  rescue  in  time.  So  much  did  he  delay  that 
Smith  impatiently  started  off  afoot,  with  the  bunch  of 
birds,  declaring  that  he  would  have  them  all  cooked 
and  eaten  too,  before  Carm  joined  him. 

The  formation  of  the  south  side  of  Long  Island  has 
already  been  described.  (I  said  at  the  time  it  was 
necessary).  At  Bayhampton  the  strip  known  as  "  the 
beach  "  dividing  the  bay  from  the  ocean,  is  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  particularly  jagged  with 
sand  hills.  Even  now,  though  posted  with  government 
life-saving  stations,  and  beach  houses  whereat  the  sum 
mer  folks  on  junket  from  the  mainland  obtain  bathing 
suits,  gingerbread,  and  the  like,  the  beach  is  still  a 
lonely  place  at  night.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  what  it 
must  have  been  in  the  old  times,  when  it  lay  "  outside 
the  law."  The  only  human  inhabitants  near  the  point 
where  Smith  and  Carman  had  come  to  shoot,  were  an 
old  Indian  couple  who  went  by  the  name  of  the  Beach 
Coons.  Whether  that  was  their  legal  cognomen  or  a 
nickname,  no  one  knew.  The  oldest  Bayman  himself 
was  not  quite  sure  when  or  how  they  had  come  to  set 
tle  on  the  beach,  and  had  been  caught  in  three  totally 
different  accounts  of  that  event.  They  dwelt  in  a  hut, 
in  a  hollow  among  the  sand  hills,  lived  by  crabbing  and 
eeling  on  the  bay  side  of  their  domain,  and  were  re 
puted  to  pick  up  more  valuable  things  occasionally  on 
the  surf  shore.  The  buccaneers  were  characters  of 


84  Smith   Brunt. 

recent  history  in  those  days,  and  the  beach  was  just 
the  place  for  the  treasure-burying  habit.  Nor  was 
piracy  then  confined  to  its  relics,  by  any  means,  and 
the  Coons  were  held  to  be  in  full  communion  with  the 
storied  trade.  No  evil  deed  had  ever  been  proved 
against  them  ;  but  there  were  ugly  stories  about  wrecks 
caused  by  false  lights,  and  men  who  had  gone  to  the 
beach  fishing  or  shooting  and  never  returned.  Super 
stition,  too,  thrived  naturally  among  the  wild  hills 
within  sound  of  the  many-voiced  sea,  and  Carman 
Hawkins'  estimate  of  the  talents  of  the  Coons  was  very 
widely  accepted  in  Bayhampton. 

Smith  Brunt,  of  course,  had  little  of  all  these  fears 
of  the  poor  old  couple  on  the  beach,  but  had  never  vis 
ited  their  hut,  and  felt  a  certain  amount  of  curiosity  at 
least,  as  he  took  his  way  thither.  Indeed,  besides  the 
thought  of  supper,  he  rather  liked  his  plan  as  smacking 
of  adventure.  By  this  time  night  had  come,  starry  but 
moonless.  As  he  came  to  the  ridge  of  the  beach  and, 
turning,  strode  along  it,  he  could  see  the  dim  outline  of 
a  schooner.  She  was  showing  no  lights,  a  fact  in  no 
way  remarkable  in  that  summer  of  '12,  when  no  vessel 
cared  to  be  seen  further  than  she  could  help,  whether 
playing  the  hunter  or  the  game.  This  craft  was  prob 
ably  in  the  latter  role,  for  she  was  lying  very  close  to 
the  beach,  a  position  safe  enough  for  her  on  that  night 
since  the  ocean  was  like  the  proverbial  millpond.  On 
such  a  still  night  the  least  sound  would  go  a  long  way 
over  the  water  ;  yet  so  quiet  was  the  schooner,  that  as 
Smith  got  to  the  hill  above  the  Coons'  hut,  he  halted 
to  listen  before  descending.  Then  he  did  hear  a 
sound, — the  dip  of  oars.  There  was  something  queer 
about  it,  too.  He  listened  carefully  and  in  a  moment 


On  the  Beach.  85 

understood  it.  There  was  no  click  ;  either  it  was  pad 
dling,  or  the  oars  were  muffled. 

Muffled  oars  off  the  beach  at  night  are  somewhat 
disturbing  to  even  a  healthy  and  hungry  young  sports 
man.  The  rumor  of  the  Coons'  piratical  affiliations 
came  over  Smith's  mind,  and  though  he  laughed  at 
himself  for  this  idea,  he  yet  deemed  it  prudent  to  wait 
a  moment,  and  see  what  these  boatmen  were  about. 
They  might  be  English,  under  command  of  some  young 
officer  who  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  come  ashore 
for  water  or  excitement  during  the  calm.  They  could 
hardly  have  been  attracted  by  the  light  from  the  hut  ; 
for,  as  Smith  looked  at  that  establishment  he  saw  that 
no  light  came  from  it  except  through  the  crack  of  the 
door,  and  further  that  it  was  hidden  from  the  ocean  by 
the  rise  of  the  sand  on  every  side  of  it.  Descending  a 
few  steps  to  get  below  the  sky  line,  he  peered  over  the 
ridge  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  see  the  boat,  listening  the 
while  for  the  approach  of  Carman  Hawkins  so  that  he 
could  warn  him.  He  was  not  left  long  in  doubt  as  to 
the  intention  of  the  boat's  crew  to  land,  for  in  a  mo 
ment  he  heard  the  bow  rub  on  the  sand,  a  low  order, 
and  the  little  rush  of  water  that  follows  a  beaching 
boat.  Remembering  that  he  had  shaken  the  priming 
from  his  flint-lock,  he  prudently  reached  for  his  powder 
flask  to  refill  the  pan,  when  a  beam  of  light  fell  across 
the  beach  grass  in  front  of  him.  Turning  his  head 
towards  the  source  of  this  ray,  he  saw  a  sight  that  for  a 
moment  drove  from  his  mind  all  thought  of  the  boat, 
and  then  forced  that  thought  back  again  with  terrible 
excitement. 

There  in  the  hollow,  in  the  full  light  that  streamed 
from  the  open  doorway  of  the  hut,  stood  Grace  Temble. 
A  long  cloak  made  her  tall  figure  seem  even  taller  ;  a 


86  Smith   Brunt. 

veil  was  wrapped  about  the  great  masses  of  her  auburn 
hair  and  around  her  throat ;  and  in  the  wildness  of  the 
place,  under  the  stars,  the  magnificent  woman  seemed 
like  the  mystic  priestess  of  some  vanished  race.  In 
deed,  at  the  first  glance,  Smith  thought  her  a  vision 
produced  by  his  twenty-four  hours  of  brooding.  How 
she  had  come  there  and  what  she  was  doing,  he  had 
no  time  to  conjecture.  All  he  comprehended  was  that 
the  most  beautiful,  sacred  being  in  the  world  stood  be 
fore  him,  not  twenty  rods  from  a  crew  of  he  knew  not 
what  ;  then  down  the  slope  of  the  hollow  he  plunged, 
in  an  avalanche  of  sand. 

"  Miss  Temble,"  he  whispered,  as  he  plowed  his  way 
to  her  side.  "Come  out  of  the  light,  quick  !  this  way  ! 
There  are  men  coming  up  the  surf  shore." 

Very  naturally  she  started  back  and  gave  him  a 
frightened  look  ;  then,  to  his  utter  dismay,  dashed  up 
the  incline  towards  the  ocean.  Before  she  had  gone 
two  steps,  he  seized  her. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,"  he  pleaded.  "  Don't  you 
recognize  me  ?  It  is  I — Smith  Brunt." 

Her  response  astonished  and  alarmed  him  still  more, 
for  she  tried  to  break  away  and  cried  aloud,  "  Go  back  ! 
Go  back  !  " 

Whether  this  admonition  was  addressed  to  him  or 
not,  Smith  did  not  stop  to  consider.  Anxiety  drove 
him  to  a  deed  at  the  very  contemplation  of  which,  in 
colder  blood,  he  would  have  shuddered.  With  a 
sudden  swoop  he  lifted  Miss  Temble  in  his  arms,  and 
started  with  her  through  the  sand,  towards  the  hill 
whence  he  had  come.  Even  in  his  alarm,  he  felt  his 
sacrilege  and  murmured  fervent  apologies.  Yet  there 
was  a  thrill  of  joy,  too,  with  it  all  ;  for  was  he  not  at 
last  actually  saving  her  from  a  peril,  just  as  in  one  of 


On  the  Beach.  87 

his  many,  many  day  dreams  ?  Hope  of  the  great  re 
ward  was  dead  for  him  now,  but  after  getting  his  queen 
out  of  sight,  he  might  have  the  exquisite  joy  of  facing 
the  marauders  and  perhaps  dying  to  cover  her  retreat. 
He  intended,  after  reaching  the  shadow  of  the  hill,  to 
direct  her  to  make  for  Carman  Hawkins  and  the  boat. 
All  this  passed  through  his  mind  in  the  second  that  he 
lifted  her  in  his  arms  ;  the  next  moment  the  lovely 
burden  herself  dashed  it  all,  and  froze  his  blood  by 
shouting  loudly  for  help.  He  staggered  on,  and  begged 
and  implored  her  to  recognize  him,  and  forgive  his 
roughness.  But  he  pleaded  in  vain,  and  before  he 
could  get  to  the  edge  of  the  hollow  heard  the  thud  of 
feet  in  the  sand  behind  him.  Setting  Miss  Temble 
quickly  and  gently  on  her  feet,  and  with  one  last 
appeal  to  her  to  run  to  the  boat,  he  turned  and  cocked 
his  fowling  piece.  Then  he  remembered  bitterly  that 
the  gun  was  useless  for  lack  of  priming ;  but  the 
click  of  the  hammer  might  deter  the  strangers,  and  in 
any  event  the  butt  would  never  miss  fire.  Dark  figures 
were  coming  over  the  ridge  from  the  ocean  side,  but 
one  was  far  in  advance  and  already  in  the  hollow.  As 
this  leader  crossed  the  stream  of  light  from  the  hut, 
Smith  threw  up  his  gun  and  ordered  him  to  halt,  then 
almost  dropped  the  weapon  as  he  recognized  Herbert 
de  Voe.  At  the  same  instant  Miss  Temble  sprang 
before  her  would-be  rescuer,  seized  the  barrel  of  his 
gun,  and  pressed  it  upward  with  all  her  force. 

"Herbert,"  she  cried,  "  go  back  !  Why  didn't  you 
go  back  when  I  told  you  ?  I  have  been  followed.  For 
Heaven's  sake  don't  make  a  fight." 

"  Too  late,"  answered  de  Voe.  "  I  won't  go  back 
without  you  now,  for  all  the  clam  diggers  on  Long 
Island." 


Smith   Brunt. 

At  last  the  meaning  of  it  all  flashed  over  Smith. 

"You  hound,"  he  cried,  "  do  you  mean  to  say  that 
you  are  trying  to  steal  her  ? " 

"I  don't  know  what  business  it  is  of  yours,  good 
Master  Blifil,"  sneered  de  Voe. 

"Then,  by  Heaven,  I'll  show  you,"  exclaimed  quiet 
Smith.  The  idea  of  struggling  with  his  goddess  for 
his  weapon  never  profaned  his  mind  ;  nor  did  he  give 
a  second  thought  to  the  approaching  seamen.  He  left 
the  gun  in  the  girl's  grasp  and  flew  unarmed  at  de 
Voe,  with  a  mad-animal-like  idea  of  disabling  this 
woman-thief  as  best  he  could.  De  Voe's  sword 
flashed  up,  but  swerved  and  tore  a  gash  only  through 
the  side  of  Smith's  neck.  The  two  men  closed  ;  and 
the  next  moment  Smith  was  lying  bleeding  with  his 
face  in  the  sand  and  three  men  on  top  of  him. 

"  No,  no,  don't  kill  him  !  Herbert,  Herbert  !  For 
Heaven's  sake,  don't  let  them  kill  him  !  Will  you  have 
bloodshed  on  this  night?"  he  heard  Miss  Temble's 
voice,  and  then  de  Voe  in  alarm. 

"  By  G —  I  didn't  mean  to  pink  him,  but  he  would 
have  it.  I  haven't  killed  him,  Grace.  Tie  him  up,  lads. 
If  he  opens  his  head,  shove  it  in  the  sand.  He  has 
not  come  here  on  purpose,  for  he  has  only  his  shot 
gun  and  that's  not  primed.  He  is  evidently  alone." 

Smith's  arms  were  drawn  behind  his  back  and 
pinioned.  Some  one  felt  his  neck,  and  again  de  Voe's 
voice  said.  "He's  all  right,"  and  laughed  scornfully. 
Then  he  was  rolled  over. 

There  stood  de  Voe  laughing,  Miss  Temble  trem 
bling  by  his  side,  with  fright  in  her  eyes,  and  behind 
them  a  ring  of  rough-looking  seamen.  Smith  marked 
all  this  confusedly,  as  in  a  nightmare. 

"  Now,  my  dear  little  boy,"  said  de  Voe,  every  word 


On  the  Beach.  89 

burning  into  the  helpless  youth's  heart,  as  it  was  meant 
to  do,  "  This  is  what  you  get  for  meddling  in  older 
people's  affairs.  If  I  leave  you  here,  I  suppose  you 
will  run  home  and  tell  papa  all  about  it.  Well,  give 
them  all  my  love,  and  tell  old  man  Temble  that  I  will 
take  good  care  of  his  ship  and  his  daughter." 

"  Mr.  Brunt,  don't,  don't  tell  anyone,  I  beg  of  you," 
pleaded  Miss  Temble.  "  I  am  so  sorry  you  have  been 
hurt  on  my  account."  Stooping  over  him,  she  bound 
his  neck  with  her  veil. 

For  a  few  moments  Smith  could  not  speak  for  the 
choking  in  his  throat.  Then  he  answered  slowly  and 
hoarsely  : 

"  That  is  hardly  a  necessary  request,  Miss  Temble. 
He  lied,  and  he  knew  that  he  lied  when  he  said  it. 
Oh,  Miss  Temble,  Miss  Temble,  Grace,  you  don't  know 
what  you  are  doing.  Before  it  is  too  late,  for  God's 
sake,  go  back,  and  make  that  man  win  you  like  a 
gentleman  and  not  like  a  thief  in  the  night.  If  you 
refuse  to  go  with  him  now  he  won't  dare,  no,  he  won't 
dare  to  take  you  by  force." 

The  girl  drew  herself  up  at  this,  and  smiled  in  a 
patronizing  way  as  though  she  knew  better. 

"  That  is  my  own  affair,  Mr.  Brunt,"  she  said.  "  I 
appreciate  your  interest  in  me,  but  really  I  am  quite 
capable  of  deciding  for  myself." 

"  Oh,  save  us  all,"  added  de  Voe,  "  is  he  going  to  be 
gin  a  sermon  ?  If  he  tries  any  more  of  that,  Bill,  fill 
his  mouth  up  with  sand." 

"You  had  better  fill  it  with  lead,  Herbert  de  Voe," 
said  Smith  quietly,  "unless  you  mean  to  marry  that 
girl.  If  you  don't,  I  will  have  you  out  and  kill  you,  so 
help  me  God  !  " 

"  That's  very  violent  language  for  a  nice  young  man 


90  Smith   Brunt. 

like  you,  Blifil,"  sneered  de  Voe.  "But  I'll  let  you 
live  until  then  if  you  behave  yourself.  Come,  Grace, 
don't  waste  any  more  time  with  this  little  prig  ;  the 
Coons  will  take  care  of  him.  Bill,  stand  by  this  thing 
while  we  go  to  the  boat.  If  you  can  find  the  people 
in  the  hut  here,  turn  him  over  to  them.  Don't  let 
him  make  a  sound,  though,  for  there  may  be  others 
near  by.  When  I  whistle,  follow  us." 

"  Dead  men  tell  no  tales,"  growled  the  man  addressed. 
"If  we  finish  him,  the  old  couple  in  the  hut  will  get 
the  credit  for  it." 

"  No,  don't  you  try  anything  of  the  kind.  We're  no 
murderers;  it  is  bad  enough  as  it  is.  Only  stop  his 
mouth.  Sorry  I  hurt  you,  my  good  little  boy,  but  you 
must  give  over  trying  to  stop  runaways.  Come, 
Grace,"  and  putting  his  arm  about  Miss  Temble,  de 
Voe  led  his  party  over  the  sand  hill  towards  the 
ocean,  leaving  the  guard  over  Smith. 

"  If  I  had  my  way,  ye  wouldn't  meddle  with  free  sea 
men  again,  even  if  they  was  privateers,"  remarked  the 
sentinel. 

Smith  looked  at  him,  and  thought  he  recognized  the 
man  whom  he  had  saved  from  a  ducking  in  the  horse 
trough.  The  form  of  the  cur's  gratitude  confirmed 
the  idea.  Not  caring  to  bandy  words  with  such  a  char 
acter,  he  remained  silent.  The  whole  episode  had  not 
taken  ten  minutes,  and  he  felt  dazed,  and  weak  from 
the  pain  in  his  neck.  From  this  condition  he  was  sud 
denly  roused  by  a  new  alarm.  From  over  the  hills 
toward  the  bay  came  the  whistled  tune  of  "The  White 
Cockade." 

In  the  excitement  of  the  last  few  minutes,  Smith 
had  entirely  forgotten  Mr.  Carman  Hawkins.  That 
worthy  was  now  approaching  the  dreaded  witches'  hut, 


On  the  Beach.  91 

and  keeping  up  his  spirits  by  the  widely  approved 
practice  of  whistling.  Two  fears  rushed  into  Smith's 
mind,  first  that  Carm  might  discover  and  expose  the 
scandal,  second  that  he  might  be  killed  if  not  warned. 
Raising  himself  in  spite  of  his  wound  and  bonds,  he 
shouted  with  all  the  strength  he  had  left : 

"  Carm,  look  out  for  yourself  !  Don't  come  here. 
Danger  ! "  Then  he  fell  back,  with  the  cutlass  of  the 
privateersman  through  his  body. 

The  whistling  ceased  ;  but  the  next  moment  Carman 
Hawkins,  gun  in  hand,  came  tearing  down  into  the 
hollow.  He  had  caught  one  glimpse,  enough  to  see 
that  this  matter  was  not  of  the  nether  world.  One 
moment  he  paused  with  an  oath  over  Smith's  prostrate 
form,  and  then,  with  his  slow  lowland  blood  all  up, 
rushed  after  the  seaman  who  was  disappearing  over 
the  hill  toward  the  surf  shore.  Smith  tried  to  call 
"don't  shoot,"  but  his  voice  would  not  go  above  a 
whisper,  and  he  lay  listening  to  what  followed  in  men 
tal  and  physical  agony. 

First  the  report  of  Carm's  shot  gun  ;  then  a  yell  and 
a  pistol  shot ;  then  de  Voe's  voice  in  loud,  sharp  orders, 
and  the  noise  of  hurried  movements  in  the  boat  ; 
then  "  give  way  all,  give  way  hard  ;  "  then  another  shot 
from  the  fowling  piece,  followed  by  cries  and  a  torrent 
of  horrible  curses  ;  and  then  to  his  partial  relief,  he 
heard  Carman  Hawkins'  voice  loud  and  clear  in 
anathema. 

"  Gol  darn  yer,  take  that  !  I  got  yer  that  time,  you 

!  I  guess  somebody  come  pretty  near 

gettin'  hurt  then.  Oh,  if  I'd  only  been  a-duckin' !  You 
wouldn't  ha'  carried  off  a  load  o'  number  four  so  easy, 
you  d ,  murderin'  skunk." 

Finding,  however,    that   he  was   not    to   retrieve  his 


92  Smith   Brunt. 

game,  Carman  returned  to  Smith  and  bent  over  him 
anxiously. 

"What  in  thunder  is  it  all  about? "he  inquired. 
Then,  seeing  the  wound,  he  stripped  off  his  shirt,  tore 
it  to  pieces,  and  with  these  bandages  stopped  the  flow 
of  blood  as  well  as  he  could,  talking  most  of  the  time. 

"  Oh,  dear,  dear,  if  it  had  only  been  a  month  later," 
was  the  burden  of  his  plaint.  "  We'd  ha'  been 
a-duckin'  then,  and  I'd  ha'  been  loaded  with  something 
that's  got  teeth  in  it.  This  plaguey  little  bird  shot 
ain't  much  better  than  sand,  but  by  jiggers,  I  guess  I 
got  my  handwritin'  on  one  of  'em." 

"  Did  you  fire  into  the  boat  ?  Could  you  see  who 
was  in  it  ?  "  asked  Smith  faintly,  as  Carm  raised  him 
and  unloosed  the  belt  about  his  arms. 

"  Couldn't  see  much  of  the  party — too  dark.  That 
son  of  a  pirate  who  stuck  you  was  the  bird  I  was 
gunnin'  for.  He  tumbled  into  the  boat,  but  he's  got 
a  keepsake  to  remember  me  by,  now  I'm  a-tellin'  yer. 
Whenever  he  sits  down  for  quite  some  time  to  come, 
he'll  think  o'  yours  truly,  Carman  Hawkins.  But  oh,  if  I 
had  only  had  BB's,  or  even  number  fours.  I'd  have 
hontswoggled  his  agility.  What's  this  parcelin'  round 
your  neck  ?  " 

Smith  opened  his  eyes.  "  Carm,"  he  gasped,  with 
an  effort,  "  take  that  off.  If  you — care  anything  for 
me, — don't  show  it  to — anybody.  Keep  it  for  me.  If 
—I  die — destroy  it." 

"All  right,  Cap,  but  shut  up  about  dyin',"  com 
manded  Carm.  "  You  ain't  a-goin'  to  do  no  dyin'. 
Don't  talk  any  more  anyway.  Darn  funny  business  this 
is,  funniest  thing  ever  I  see.  But  I  won't  ask  you  no 
questions  now.  Tell  you  what,  though,"  he  exclaimed, 
rising  to  his  feet  the  moment  he  had  completed  his 


On  the  Beach.  93 

surgical  attentions,  "I  know  some  one  I  will  come 
pretty  near  makin'  some  inquiries  of." 

With  the  instinct  and  celerity  of  an  old-time  sports 
man  he  had  already  recharged  and  primed  his  muzzle- 
loader,  and  picking  it  up  again  he  now  strode  to  the 
hut.  But  he  found  no  human  being,  either  in  the  hut 
or  near  it.  If  the  proprietors  had  been  there  they  had 
fled.  Returning  to  Smith,  he  raised  the  light  form  in 
his  arms  and  made  his  way  carefully  to  the  Dowicher. 
With  a  curse  he  marked  the  schooner  already  pointing 
off  shore  with  a  light,  westerly  breeze. 

"  Glad  to  see  there's  some  air  stirrin',  though," 
he  added.  "Gettin'  you  home  is  the  first  job,  and  it's 
lucky  we  didn't  get  the  wind  into  the  no'th'ard  as  it 
generally  comes  at  night.  'Y  Guy,  I  wish  it  would 
jump  out  southeast  all  of  a  sudden  and  jam  that  pirate 
on  the  beach.  I'd  kind  o'  like  to  come  over  here  with 
a  nice  party  and  help  them  ashore  if  they  got 
wrecked." 

It  was  an  anxious  voyage  that  Carman  made  across 
the  bay  that  night.  Smith  had  become  unconscious 
by  the  time  he  was  laid  in  the  Dowicher.  The  little 
boat  seemed  to  understand  her  master's  peril  and 
skimmed  rapidly  homeward,  while  Carm  sailed  her  as 
never  he  had  sailed  a  boat  in  his  life.  At  the  Bay- 
hampton  dock  he  was  astonished  to  find  a  large 
number  of  men  still  there. 

"  Hullo,  Carm,"  said  one  of  the  Smiths,  catching  the 
Dowicher  s  painter  as  she  very  lightly  rounded  to  the 
dock  ;  "Where's  Smith  Brunt?  They  said  he  was  off 
with  you  gunnin'." 

"So  he  is,"  answered  Carm,  "leastways  he  or  his 
body  is.  Pull  her  stern  round  and  help  me  lift  him 
out." 


94  Smith  Brunt. 

"What  !  "  cried  two  or  three  at  once.  "What's  the 
matter  ?  Is  he  shot  ?" 

"  Matter  enough.  Run  through  the  side  by  pirates, 
or  Britishers,  or  them  darn  Coons,  or  somethin'.  I 
dunno.  Don't  stop  to  talk  now.  Run  for  a  wagon, 
somebody,  and  somebody  else  go  after  Doctor  Haw 
kins." 

"Good  God  !  "  exclaimed  some  one.  "That's  two  in 
one  day.  Ain't  that  funny  ?" 

"Two  ?     What  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Carm. 

"Why,  Miss  Temble  is  drowned.  You  know,  that 
good  lookin'  young  lady  from  the  city  that  was  stayin' 
to  Squire  Lawrence's." 

"  Is  that  what  you  fellows  was  doin'  out  off  Old  Duck 
this  afternoon  ?  "  queried  Carm.  "  Draggin'  ?  " 

"That's  what  we  was  doin'.  Didn't  find  nothin'  of 
her,  though." 

"  How  did  it  happen  ?  Speak  low.  Don't  let  him 
hear  about  it  if  he  comes  to,"  cautioned  Carm,  nodding 
towards  Smith  Brunt  who  was  now  being  lifted  gently 
to  the  dock.  "  Look  out  for  his  side,  there." 

"  She  went  rowing  clear  across  the  bay  with  her  maid 
and  got  capsized.  The  maid  and  the  sharpie  was  picked 
up  in  Old  Duck  Dreen.  How  did  he  get  hurt?" 

"  In  Old  Duck  ? "  repeated  Carm,  disregarding  the 
last  question.  "  Why,  you'd  ought  to  have  found  her 
then  easy  enough.  There  ain't  hardly  enough  water 
there  to  drown  anybody  standin'  up.  How  long  had 
the  hired  girl  been  in  the  water?" 

"  'Bout  two  hours,  she  said  ;  but  of  course  she  wasn't 
any  too  happy  and  comfortable,  and  it  probably  wasn't 
anything  like  as  long  as  that.  It  is  darned  funny  we 
didn't  find  the  body  ;  that's  just  what  everybody's 
sayin'.  Right  on  the  edge  of  the  flats,  and  what  little 


On  the  Beach.  95 

wind  there  was,  sou'west,  so    the    boat  couldn't    have 
drifted  out  of  the  deep  water." 

Carm  gave  a  long,  low  whistle.  "  'Y  Guy  I  dunno," 
he  said,  "  you  can't  most  always  tell  about  them  things. 
'Tain't  no  use  o'  talkin'.  They  do  have  funny  ways  of 
happenin'." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MOSTLY    HISTORY,    NOT    MADE    BY    SMITH. 

SMITH  recovered  from  his  wounds,  as  the  reader  may 
surmise  seeing  that  this  is  but  early  in  the  story. 
A  great  deal  of  anxiety  may  often  be  saved  by  consult 
ing  the  number  of  the  page,  for  a  case  is  never  serious 
except  near  the  back  cover.  But  to  Captain  Brunt 
the  distance  to  the  cover  was  hidden,  and  to  poor  old 
Mr.  Temble  the  book  was  closed.  At  the  end  of  a 
week  Smith  was  pronounced  out  of  danger,  but  he  had 
to  stay  long  abed,  and  to  his  great  grief  was  unable  to 
join  his  ship  before  she  sailed.  When  allowed  to  speak 
he  told  carefully  of  his  adventure,  testifying  nothing 
but  the  truth  but  by  no  means  the  whole  of  it.  On 
the  day  after  the  incident,  Squire  Lawrence  had  gone 
to  the  beach  and  taken  the  Coons  into  custody.  The 
old  man  had  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  affair  ;  but  his 
frightened  helpmate  had  confessed  to  the  squire's  pri 
vate  ear  a  tale  that  sent  that  stout  gentleman  across 
the  bay  and  into  the  house  of  Captain  Brunt  like  a 
white  squall.  He  always  went  to  the  captain  in  time 
of  stress.  The  advice  he  got  in  this  instance  was  to 
hold  his  tongue  and  above  all  not  to  say  a  word  to 
Temble. 

"  But  the  poor  old  man  is  nearly  crazy  with  grief," 
expostulated  Squire  Harry.  "  He  talks  about  how  he 
had  been  too  severe  with  her  about  something  (I  guess 
it  was  this  very  affair),  and  how  he  can  never  forgive 
himself.  Tis  heart-breaking  to  hear  him,  and  worse 
96 


Mostly  History,   not  made  by  Smith.     97 

when  he  keeps  quiet.  After  all  'tis  only  a  runaway 
match,  and  that's  better  than  death.  With  all  his  faults, 
I  can't  believe  Herbert  would  treat  the  girl  dishonor 
ably." 

"  No,  you  can't  believe  it,"  replied  Captain  Brunt, 
"  nor  will  I,  but  you  may  not  be  able  to  impart  the 
same  faith  to  Temble.  When  they  are  properly  mar 
ried  they  will  undoubtedly  send  him  word  ;  and  in  the 
meantime,  if  anyone  is  to  tell  him,  let  it  be  Smith.  Let 
the  old  man  at  least  think  that  only  Smith  knows  of  it." 

"  Don't  you  think  we  might  hang  the  Coons  ?  "  sug 
gested  the  magistrate. 

"  On  what  and  whose  charge  ?  Don't  do  anything. 
Wait  until  Smith  gets  well — if  he  does.  I  wish  he  had 
never  seen  the  fool  of  a  girl." 

But  when  Smith  got  well  he  refused  to  make  any 
charge  whatever  against  the  Coons  and  laid  it  all  to 
marauding  enemies.  Nevertheless,  all  Bayhampton 
allowed  that  there  was  something  mighty  funny  about 
the  whole  thing.  Carman  Hawkins'  rendering  of  the 
tale  was  a  work  of  art,  that  steadily  increased  in  size 
and  beauty,  until  at  last  he  would  have  sunk  the 
schooner  itself,  "  if  only  he  hadn't  been  loaded  with 
dirty  little  No.  8  shot." 

Mr.  Temble  went  back  to  his  lonely  house  in  town 
soon  after  these  events.  The  Essex  sailed  without 
her  third  lieutenant,  but  took  with  her  Mr.  Midshipman 
Lawrence,  nearly  bursting  his  blue  jacket  and  cocked 
hat  with  the  pride  of  them.  The  squire  returned  in 
lugubrious  mood  after  consigning  his  boy  to  Captain 
Porter,  but  felt  satisfied  that  he  could  not  have  chosen 
a  better  ship. 

"  Old  Ben  will  be  in  company  with  Teddy  after  all," 
he  added  confidentially  to  Captain  Brunt;  "and  Jim 


98  Smith  Brunt. 

Lawrence  will  be  in  squadron  with  them,  too,  for 
Porter  is  to  join  the  Constitution  and  Hornet  in  the 
South  Atlantic.  Don't  say  anything  about  that  to  a 
soul,  of  course.  Too  bad  Jim  hasn't  a  frigate  yet.  I 
should  have  liked  to  have  had  Teddy  with  him,  since 
Smith  is  laid  up.  But  the  boy  must  have  schooling, 
and  there  is  no  chaplain  on  a  sloop-of-war." 

Orrin  went  back  to  the  Constitution  at  Boston  and 
thereby  hangs  a  short  tale.  The  old  man  had  a  strong 
aversion  to  travelling  by  stagecoach,  as  being  danger 
ous  navigation  apart  from  it's  expense.  He  preferred 
the  risk  of  the  water  voyage,  for  with  a  small  boat  he 
could  keep  clear  of  the  British  cruisers  by  skipping 
from  harbor  to  harbor.  The  long  run  around  the 
Cape  could  be  avoided  by  crossing  from  the  head  of 
Buzzard's  Bay.  On  his  last  trip  to  New  York,  after 
being  chased  along  the  beach,  Carman  Hawkins  had 
returned  through  the  as  yet  untroubled  waters  of  the 
Sound,  and  left  his  boat  at  Drown  Meadow  to  be  sold 
if  possible.  So  to  Drown  Meadow  (now,  alas,  called 
Port  Jefferson),  Ben  Orrin  went,  taking  Carm  with  him, 
and  sailed  from  there  to  the  eastward,  intending  that 
his  nephew  should  return  after  leaving  him  at  Ware- 
ham.  Instead  of  Mr.  Hawkins,  however,  there  came  in 
due  time  to  Aunt  Hepsy  the  following  letter  contain 
ing  a  draft  for  three  hundred  dollars  : 

"  MY  DEAR  AUNT  : 

"I  have  sold  the  old  boat  to  aCapeCodder  for  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  which  is  a  heap 
more  than  I  could  have  got  for  her  to  home.  I  send 
you  what  I  have  left.  I  have  shipped  on  the  Hornet 
along  of  Captin  Jim  Lawrence  Boss  Hens  cousin  that 
used  to  come  visiting  him.  I  guess  you  remember 
him.  Dont  you  take  on  about  it  becoz  I  will  be  a  good 
deal  more  use  to  you  here  than  I  would  be  to  home. 


Mostly  History,   not  made  by  Smith.     99 

I  will  send  you  my  pay  and  when  I  come  home  with  a 
lot  of  prize  money  you  will  know  what  a  fine  feller  you 
got  for  a  neffew.  I  am  a  peaceable  young  man  and  I 
aint  got  no  vain  desires  to  swap  guts  for  glory  but  a  man 
must  live  somehow  and  I  guess  working  for  the  Gov 
ernment  is  as  decent  a  way  as  any.  Captin  Lawrence 
and  Captin  Bainbridge  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
is  all  dead  set  to  have  me  go  and  I  cant  bear  to  disap 
point  them.  The  oystering  is  all  knocked  out  now 
and  you  can  easy  hire  some  one  cheap  to  look  after  the 
place  better  nor  I  could.  Anyhow  Squire  Hen  will 
see  that  you  are  all  right  and  so  will  Captin  Bob  and 
Smith  Brunt  when  he  is  to  home.  I  aint  said  a  great 
deal  to  Uncle  Ben  about  my  plans  and  I  thought 
maybe  I  had  better  not  go  on  the  same  ship  with  him 
so  as  all  your  eggs  would  not  be  in  one  basket. 

"  Your  respectful  neffew 

"CARM." 

Aunt  Hepsy  was  very  angry  over  the  disobedience 
disclosed  in  this  communication,  but  in  her  heart  was 
more  sorrow  than  anger.  Ben  Orrin,  when  he  met 
Carm  in  navy  togs  on  the  wharf  in  Boston,  exploded 
in  scripture  of  the  most  violent  texts,  but  conceded  on 
the  whole  that  only  the  Service  would  suffer,  and  that 
it  might  possibly  make  a  man  even  of  Carman.  Soon 
afterwards  the  two  vessels  sailed  out  of  Boston,  and 
two  days  later  the  Essex  left  the  Delaware.  They  were 
destined  not  to  meet,  but  each  to  contribute  separately 
a  brilliant  chapter  to  the  history  of  the  Navy.  And 
meanwhile,  poor  Smith  lay  in  a  long  chair,  looking 
wistfully  over  the  bay  towards  the  ocean. 

As  soon  as  the  doctor  would  allow  it,  Smith  hastened 
to  New  York  and  reported  for  service.  That  done,  he 
went  to  call  upon  Mr.  Temble.  If  Grace  was  married 
she  must  by  that  time  have  sent  word  to  her  father, 
and  Smith  had  a  faint  hope  of  getting  some  intimation 


ioo  Smith   Brunt. 

that  would  end  the  horrible  uncertainty.  The  poor, 
lonely  old  man  received  him  with  an  eagerness  that 
touched  him.  Mr.  Temble's  hair  had  grown  very  white, 
his  face  very  thin,  and  there  was  a  certain  nervousness 
in  his  manner  as  he  ordered  the  door  of  the  room 
closed  on  account  of  the  draught.  After  inquiring 
about  the  people  at  Bayhampton,  and  expressing  his 
pleasure  at  Smith's  recovery,  he  startled  the  young  offi 
cer  by  a  sudden,  earnest  gaze  and  the  abrupt  remark  : 

"  I  have  heard  nothing  from  de  Voe  and  my 
schooner." 

"  That  is  not  strange,  Mr.  Temble,"  replied  Smith. 
"  He  would  be  likely  to  keep  the  sea  for  some  time. 
Most  of  our  ports  are  blockaded,  now,  you  know." 

"  The  Dart  sailed  from  Fire  Island  the  day — the  day 
my  daughter  was  drowned.  Have  you  seen  or  heard 
anything  of  her  since?" 

"  Not  a  word,"  answered  Smith  firmly,  but  very  red. 
"  You  must  remember,  Mr.  Temble,"  he  added,  "  how 
difficult  communication  would  be  from  any  foreign 
port." 

"That  is  true,  that  is  true,"  muttered  the  old  man. 
"  Yet  I  feel  very,  very  anxious."  Leaning  forward  he 
looked  still  more  earnestly  into  Smith's  face,  and 
asked,  "Will  you  take  command  of  an  armed  ship,  and 
go  search  for  de  Voe  ?  " 

Smith  did  not  answer  for  a  minute.  There  was  an 
agony  in  his  heart  and  mind,  and  it  showed  in  his  face 
when  at  last  he  replied:  "I  am  in  the  Service,  Mr. 
Temble.  I  cannot  take  a  private  ship  now." 

The  merchant's  hands  closed.  "  I  do  not  ask  you  to 
take  an  ordinary  letter-of-marque,"  he  said.  "  I  know 
how  you  naval  men  feel  about  that.  I  will  give  you  a 
ship  that  can  sink  five  like  the  Dart ;  a  ship  that  can 


Mostly   History,   not  made  by  Smith.  101 

cope  with  any  corvette,  aye,  with  any  frigate  in  the 
English  navy.  You  can  fight  the  King's  ships  as  well 
as  any  regular  officer,  and  get  as  much  and  more  glory. 
You  need  avoid  no  combats.  No,  no,  you  need  be  no 
common  privateer." 

"I  cannot  "  repeated  Smith  growing  more  and  more 
uncomfortable. 

"  Boy,  boy,  consider  a  moment.  You  would  be  your 
own  master  entirely.  After  you  have  finished  nay  ser 
vice,  you  shall  have  the  ship  to  do  as  you  please. 
For  the  rest  of  the  war  you  can  go  where  you  like,  and 
fight  what  you  like,  unrestricted  by  any  orders.  If 
you  perform  any  gallant  exploit,  as  you  will  be  almost 
sure  to  do,  the  whole  country  will  ring  with  your  name. 
The  newspapers  shall  be  full  of  it.  I  will  see  to  that. 
It  will  go  down  to  history.  Do  you  suppose  the  people 
of  this  nation  care  whether  you  be  a  regular  or  a  pri 
vateer  ?  Pshaw,  they  .prefer  the  volunteer.  After  the 
war  a  high  political  career  would  very  probably  be  open 
to  you.  Good  gracious,  lad,  you  are  but  a  young  lieu 
tenant  and  any  post-captain  in  the  navy  would  jump  at 
what.  I  am  offering  you." 

"  If  you  think  that,  Mr.  Temble,  you  do  not  know 
the  Navy." 

"  Well,  then,  young  man,  if  you  are  so  fantastically 
attached  to  it,  remember  that  I  command  great  politi 
cal  influence.  I  can  help  or  hinder  men  vastly,  even  in 
your  Service,  You  shall  lose  no  promotion,  I  promise 
you,  by  a  year's  absence,  even  should  it  be  so  long." 

"  I  have  told  you  I  cannot  go.  If  I  could,  it  would 
be  unnecessary  to  urge  me  in  any  such  way." 

"You  can  name  your  own  price — No,  no,  no,  boy,  I 
didn't  mean  that.  Sit  down,  I  didn't  mean  that.  For 
give  me.  You  are  not  that  kind  I  know  ;  you  are  Bob 


102  Smith  Brunt. 

Brunt's  son.  God  help  me,  I  am  losing  my  mind.  But 
you  are  the  only  one  I  can  send,  the  only  one."  And 
the  poor  old  man  began  to  cry.  That  sight  drove  all 
the  indignation  from  Smith's  mind. 

"  I  give  you  my  word  of  honour,  Mr.  Temble,"  he 
said,  earnestly,  "  the  moment  my  duty  permits,  I  will 
go  look  for  your — your  schooner.  Please  don't  mind 
what  you  said.  I  was  hurt  for  a  moment  because  I — I  am 
very  anxious  about  de  Voe,  too,  and  I  would  go  now  if 
I  possibly  could." 

"  I  believe  you,  lad,"  said  Temble  recovering  himself. 
"  And  no  doubt,  you're  right.  When  you  consider 
yourself  free,  come  and  let  me  know." 

So  Smith  went  away,  wishing  that  Grace  Temble's 
trick  had  been  more  successful,  and  beginning  to  detect 
a  difference  between  his  own  sorrow  and  a  wound  like 
that  old  man's. 

He  had  small  hope  of  active  duty,  for  by  that  time 
almost  every  ship  not  already  at  sea  was  blockaded  by 
hopelessly  superior  force.  Still  there  was  a  chance  for 
the  smaller  vessels  of  slipping  out  now  and  then, 
and  preparations  were  going  forward  on  the  lakes 
that  promised  some  lively  work,  though  fresh  water 
service  was  not  so  much  to  Smith's  taste.  Even  these 
hopes  soon  vanished  ;  to  our  sailor's  utter  disgust,  he 
was  assigned  to  the  gunboats. 

This  alleged  defensive  fleet,  instituted  years  before 
by  Thomas  Jefferson,  preserved  by  his  followers,  and 
heartily  despised  by  every  seaman,  figured  most  of  the 
time  in  the  East  River.  Such  duty  did  not  serve  to 
lighten  Smith's  gloom,  nor  dim  the  temptation  of  Mr. 
Temble's  offer.  Often  he  caught  himself  half  wishing 
to  turn  privateer,  and  search  the  world  over  for  his  lost 
love  and  de  Voe.  He  never  seriously  contemplated 


Mostly  History,  not  made  by  Smith.  103 

such  a  proceeding,  however,  but  stuck  to  his  distasteful 
duty  with  his  usual  quiet  faithfulness. 

His  landlocked  sphere  was  rendered  the  more  irk 
some  by  the  news  that  soon  began  to  drift  in  from  over 
sea.  First,  the  terrible  encounter  between  the  Wasp  and 
the  frolic,  all  the  more  terrible  for  its  fruitlessness,  since 
both  vessels  were  immediately  recaptured  by  a  British 
seventy-four,  leaving  us  only  the  glory  minus  a  sloop-of 
war.  Smith  heard  the  story  at  first-hand  from  an  Islip 
man,  whom  he  recognized  among  the  exchanged 
prisoners  when  they  came  to  New  York. 

"  It  was  like  this,"  said  this  man.  "  Suppose  you 
was  shootin'  at  a  crippled  broadbill,  where  would  you 
aim — right  at  him  ?" 

"No,  of  course  not,"  answered  Smith.  "A  little 
under  him." 

"  Exactly,  and  that's  just  what  we  done.  Johnny 
Bull  didn't  seem  to  know  that  trick.  He'd  shoot  as  he 
come  up  on  the  roll,  and  we  fired  a-goin'  down.  So, 
he  only  put  button  holes  in  our  canvas,  while  we 
punched  him  on  the  mark  every  clip." 

Next  came  Decatur,  sailing  through  Hell  Gate,  with 
the  captured  Macedonian  astern  of  the  States.  Then 
from  Boston  way  came  the  news  that  the  wonderful 
Constitution  had  returned,  after  again  sending  an  Eng 
lish  frigate,  the  Java,  to  the  bottom.  The  only  adverse 
criticism  to  be  made  of  that  old  ship  was  that  she  was 
apt  to  spoil  an  enemy  before  taking  it. 

Smith,  was,  of  course,  most  excited  over  the  return  of 
"  Old  Ironsides"  for,  besides  his  interest  in  Orrin,  he 
hoped  to  get  news  of  the  Essex.  In  this,  however,  he  was 
disappointed,  for,  on  meeting  Commodore  Bainbridge  in 
New  York,  he  learned  that  the  Hornet  and  Constitution 
had  missed  the  Essex  at  the  appointed  rendezvous,  and 


104  Smith   Brunt. 

where  she  was  now  Bainbridge  had  not  the  faintest 
idea.  Possibly  Porter  had  gone  to  the  Indian  Ocean, 
which  had  been  the  original  plan  for  the  squadron. 
Lawrence,  in  the  Hornet,  had  been  left  off  Bahia  send 
ing  daily  prayers  to  the  commander  of  an  English  brig 
in  that  harbor  to  come  out  and  fight  him. 

Three  weeks  later,  that  handsome  young  Master-Com 
mandant  came  into  port  with  as  good  a  log  as  the  rest. 
He  had  been  driven  away  from  his  friend  at  Bahia  by  a 
ship-of-the-line,  but  off  the  Carobana  Bank  had  chanced 
upon  his  Britannic  Majesty's  brig,  Peacock,  and  made  a 
sinking  wreck  of  her  in  eleven  minutes.  Furthermore, 
he  had  lost  but  four  men  in  the  operation,  and  three  of 
those  went  down  with  the  prize  in  the  endeavor  to 
save  their  recent  foes.  It  may  be  added,  as  character 
istic  of  Lawrence,  that  his  prisoners  all  became  his 
sworn  friends  and  admirers,  and  in  New  York  published 
a  letter  to  that  effect. 

Smith  was  among  the  first  to  welcome  his  beloved 
paragon  at  the  landing. 

"  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  had  been  with  you,"  he  groaned, 
after  the  first  greetings. 

"  I  wish  so,  too,  my  dear  boy  ;  but  you  sent  us  a  very 
valuable  representative  from  Bayhampton.  There  is 
some  one  who  wants  to  speak  to  you,"  said  Lawrence, 
pointing  to  the  bow  oar  of  his  gig  who  was  holding  to 
the  wharf  with  the  boat  hook.  Smith  looked  and  rec 
ognized  a  pair  of  very  bright  eyes  dancing  over  a  very 
broad  grin. 

"  Well,  Carm,  you're  a  nice  truant,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  'Y  Guy  I  dnnno.  What'll  Aunt  Hepsy  say  now  ? 
Biggest  gunnin'  ever  I  see." 

Lawrence  knew  no  more  than  Bainbridge  about  the 
Essex. 


Mostly   History,   not  made  by  Smith.  105 

"  She  didn't  turn  up  at  Fernando  de  Noronha,"  he 
said.  "  She  could  hardly  have  been  captured  without 
our  hearing  of  it.  Nor  have  I  much  fear  that  she  has 
been  lost  at  sea.  My  private  opinion  is  that  Porter, 
after  missing  us,  took  it  into  his  head  to  go  round  the 
Horn.  That  was  always  a  pet  notion  of  his.  If  he 
has,  we  shall  hear  of  him  before  long,  raising  Old  Ned 
in  the  South  Seas.  So  you've  been  stuck  with  the  gun 
boats,  eh  ?  Well,  perhaps  we  shall  be  able  to  change 
that.  I'll  have  you  know,  sir,  that  I  am  now  a  real 
captain.  My  commission  is  ready,  I  hear,  and  trust 
that  the  frigate  will  soon  follow." 

And  so  in  high  spirits  the  two  rattled  on  as  they 
went  to  Lawrence's  home,  and  he  told  of  his  cruise  and 
battle  ;  how  he  had  blockaded  the  Bonne  Citoyenne  at 
Bahia  and  "  the  beggar  wouldn't  fight"  (which  was 
prudent  of  the  "beggar,"  as  it  has  since  turned  out 
that  he  had  a  cargo  of  the  King's  specie  aboard)  ;  how 
he  had  whipped  the  Peacock  within  sight  of  another 
British  man-of-war  ;  how  poor  Peake,  her  captain,  had 
been  killed,  and  wrapped  in  his  flag  had  been  allowed 
to  go  down  in  his  ship,  and  what  a  fine  way  that  was  to 
go  ;  what  a  good  lot  of  fellows  the  English  officers  were, 
and  how  sorry  he  felt  for  them  ;  and  how  (this  more 
quietly)  he  was  taking  to  his  own  home  a  poor  little  lad 
from  among  the  prisoners,  who  had  lost  his  father  in 
the  action,  and  had  been  left  all  alone  in  the  world. 
And  when  he  turned  Lawrence  over  to  the  arms  of  his 
young  wife,  Smith  did  not  wonder  at  her  tears  of  joy, 
and  discreetly  retired,  feeling  sure  that  there  had 
never  been  anybody  in  the  world,  except  his  father,  so 
fine  as  Jim  Lawrence. 

Some  time  afterwards,  he  went  to  the  theatre  on  a 
night  when  the  entire  crew  of  the  Hornet  was  present 


io6  Smith   Brunt. 

by  invitation.  The  man-o'-warsmen  were  more  of  an 
attraction  than  the  play,  though  they  themselves  took 
huge  delight  in  the  latter,  particularly  in  the  stage 
sailor  who  kept  "  dashing  his  top  lights,"  and  "  shiver 
ing  his  timbers"  so  frequently  as  to  cause  Carman 
Hawkins  to  announce,  "  That  lad  makes  the  air  too 
salt  to  breathe  without  gittin'  thirsty.  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno, 
but  I'm  afraid  he's  drivin'  us  to  drink."  When  tall 
Lawrence  appeared  with  a  party  in  one  of  the  boxes, 
the  whole  house  rose  to  its  feet  and  cheered  and 
cheered,  until  he  bowed  and  retreated  blushing  to  the 
back  of  the  box.  And  Smith  almost  cried  with  pleas 
ure  at  the  triumph  of  his  boyhood's  hero. 

To  our  lieutenant  one  day  came  the  new-made 
captain  rapidly  waving  from  afar  a  paper. 

"  Smith  !  Smith  boy  !  "  he  cried.  "  I  have  her  at 
last!  They  have  promised  me  the  Constitution! 
And  there  will  be  no  trouble  about  getting  you  put  in 
as  third  and  perhaps  second  !  What  do  you  think  of 
that  ?  " 

Smith's  eyes  sparkled.  It  seemed  almost  too  good 
to  be  true,  for  next  to  rejoining  his  own  ship,  always 
first  in  the  sailor's  devotion,  he  could  imagine  nothing 
better  than  to  serve  on  the  famous  lucky  frigate,  with 
old  Orrin  on  board  and  Lawrence  in  command.  He 
would  not  believe  it  until  he  saw  the  commissions. 
At  any  rate  he  was  immediately  afterwards  relieved 
from  the  exasperating  work  on  the  gunboats,  and 
allowed  to  go  home  before  being  ordered  on  sea  duty. 
So  back  to  Bayharnpton  he  went,  taking  Carman  Haw 
kins  with  him  on  leave. 

His  doubts  were  doomed  to  be  realized.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  home  he  received  the  following  letter  : 


Mostly  History,  not  made  by  Smith.    107 

"NEW  YORK,  May  loth,  1813. 
"  MY  DEAR  SMITH  : — 

"I  have  met  with  a  bitter  disappointment  in 
which  I  fear  you  must  share.  Instead  of  the  Constitution, 
which  they  had  promised,  they  have  given  me — what  do 
you  think  ?  the  Chesapeake.  Personally,  of  course,  I  do 
not  care  a  pin  about  her  ill  luck,  for  the  luck  of  a  ship 
lies  in  her  lines  and  guns  and  the  men  aboard  of  her, 
but  the  trouble  of  it  is  in  Jack's  superstition,  and  I 
shall  have  a  hard  task  to  get  a  decent  crew.  She  has 
just  had  an  unlucky  cruise,  and  I  hear  that  most  of 
her  old  men  have  finished  their  time  and  left.  I  have 
written  four  times  to  the  Secretary,  and  have  even 
asked  to  be  kept  on  the  Hornet,  but  without  success. 
Evans  is  ill,  and  some  one  must  take  the  craft,  so  I 
must  make  the  best  of  it  and  not  grumble.  So  un 
pleasant  is  the  prospect  that  I  will  not  urge  you  to 
come  with  me,  though  you  will  have  not  the  slightest 
difficulty  in  doing  so  if  you  care  to,  for  almost  every 
one  of  her  former  officers  is  either  on  the  sick  list,  or 
has  succeeded  in  getting  transferred.  I  need  not  say 
that  I  should  be  delighted  to  have  you,  and  if  we  can 
get  any  sort  of  a  crew  together  I  will  guarantee  to 
change  the  old  witch's  reputation,  I  shall  feel  home 
sick  for  the  little  Hornet j  but  I  leave  her  in  good 
hands.  Biddle  is  to  have  her?  and  will  surely  make 
her  score  again.  Furthermore,  she  will  still  be  under 
my  eye,  for  she  is  to  join  us  and  cruise  in  our  company. 

"  The  Chesapeake  is,  as  you  kn'ow,  at  Boston  and  I  go 
thither  to-morrow.  Let  me  know  there  whether  or 
not  to  apply  for  your  appointment  under  me.  I  shall 
not  blame  you  a  bit  if  you  say  no. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"JAMES  LAWRENCE. 

"  P.  S.  If  you  come,  be  sure  and  bring  along  Haw 
kins,  who  is  bow  oar  of  my  gig  and  any  other  good 
man  you  can  get.  All  of  my  gigs  and  all  of  the  other 
Hornet's,  whose  time  is  up,  are  coming  with  me. 

"  J.  L." 

Smith  smiled  when  he  read   this   and   remarked  that 


io8  Smith   Brunt. 

he  had  known  the  Constitution  would  be  too  lucky  for 
him.  Nevertheless,  he  would  ship  on  a  raft  with 
Lawrence,  and  so  wrote  him.  Then  he  went  to  the 
post  office.  Carman  Hawkins  was  there  holding  forth 
to  the  meeting. 

"  Seems  Carm  done  the  hull  thing,"  explained  one  of 
the  Hawkinses,  with  a  wink,  as  Smith  joined  the  gather 
ing.  "  If  you  don't  believe  it,  just  ask  him  and  see." 

"  Well,  when  the  captain  of  the  gun  next  to  me  was 
killed,"  Carman  was  saying,  "  I  took  his  gun  and  mine, 
and  lashed  'em  together.  That  way  I  had  a  double- 
barrel  piece,  you  see." 

"  Oh,  hold  on,  Carm,"  interrupted  one  of  the  Smiths, 
"  that's  a  new  touch.  You're  gettin'  broad  off.  Trim 
your  sheet  and  pint  up  a  little  closer  to  the  truth." 

"That's  it,"  complained  Carm.  "That's  all  a  man 
ever  gets  for  a-bleedin'  and  a-dyin'  for  his  country. 
Maybe  you'd  like  to  tell  this  history  yourself.  If  you 
don't  want  to  listen,  you  needn't.  I'm  just  tellin'  these 
here  boys.  As  I  was  sayin',  I  had  a  double-barrel  gun 
then  and  I  could  aim  and  let  go  both  barrels  to  onct. 
When  Cap'n  Jim  see  this  he  says,  '  Hawkins,'  says  he, 
1  you'd  oughter  be  cap'n  of  a  frigate,  stead  of  cap'n  of 
a  gun.'  But  I  ain't  proud.  I  dunno  as  I'll  complain 
any  if  they  don't  make  me  nothin'  more'n  a  Master 
Commandant." 

Smith  felt  compelled  to  cut  short  this  interesting 
narrative,  and  told  Carman  of  the  letter  just  received. 
Carm  made  a  wry  face  at  mention  of  the  Chesapeake, 
but  allowed  that  if  "  Cap'n  Jim  "  and  Smith  were  both 
going  on  her  he  would  not  be  "  a  great  ways  off." 

Two  weeks  later  came  the  orders.  Smith's  eager 
ness  was  alloyed  only  by  the  thought  of  his  father. 
The  latter,  however,  was  cheerful  as  ever,  and  not 


Mostly  History,  not  made  by  Smith.     109 

until  after  his  son  was  gone  did  he  look  sad  and 
anxious. 

"  Glad  the  boy  has  got  with  Jim  Lawrence  at  last," 
said  the  squire  in  an  endeavor  to  comfort  his  friend. 

"  Yes,  he  is  happy  now,"  answered  Captain  Brunt, 
shaking  his  head.  "  But  Lawrence  is  scarce  over 
thirty,  and  has  never  been  thrashed.  Ah,  well  !  they 
won't  disgrace  themselves." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  TALE  FROM  THE  COAST  OF  THE  HIGH  BARBARY. 

ABOARD  his  ship  at  Boston,  Smith  found  his  Cap 
tain  and  was  joyfully  welcomed. 

"I  can't  tell  you  how  I  appreciate  your  coming," 
said  Lawrence  warmly,  "and  you  are  just  in  time,  too. 
There  is  a  single  British  frigate  off  the  harbour,  the 
Shannon,  I  think,  and  to-morrow  I  am  going  out  to  get 
her.  You  shall  have  your  fill  of  glory  at  last.  But 
this  ship  is  very  different  from  the  Hornet  I  can  tell 
you.  I  have  had  wretched  work  in  trying  to  get  a 
crew,  just  as  I  expected.  Besides  her  bad  name  there 
has  been  trouble  about  her  prize  money.  And  then 
the  cursed  privateers  have  drawn  most  of  the  material 
out  of  this  town.  Furthermore,  I  am  even  short  of 
officers.  Thank  goodness,  I  have  Ludlow  here,  and  I 
am  going  to  put  him  in  as  first,  and  I  have  you.  You 
two  are  the  only  commissioned  lieutenants.  The  rest  I 
must  pick  from  the  midshipmen."  * 

All  this  was  not  very  promising  for  glory,  but 
the  near  prospect  of  a  real  stand-up  fight  elated  Smith 
beyond  measure.  He  experienced,  however,  a  mo 
mentary  qualm  at  the  idea  of  commanding  next  day  in 
action,  men  whom  he  had  not  yet  even  seen. 

*  If  there  are  any  descendants  of  Commander   George  Budd,  I  beg 
that  they  will  pardon    me   for  giving   his    position  and    part    of  his 
experience  to  Smith  Brunt, 
no 


From  the   High   Barbary.  ill 

Possibly  his  doubt  showed  in  his  face,  for  Lawrence 
smiled  a  little  and  asked : 

"  What's  the  matter,  youngster  ?  You  don't  look  as 
enthusiastic  as  you  should.  Perhaps  you  think 
we  ought  to  wait  awhile  ?  But  we  can't,  lad. 
This  Shannon  had  a  consort  and  appears  to  have  sent 
her  away.  That  is  a  square  challenge.  I  have  had  a 
good  deal  to  say  about  that  fellow  Greene  at  Bahia, 
and  no  Englishman  shall  say  the  same  about  any  officer 
in  our  service,  particularly  your  obedient  servant." 

"  What  does  Captain  Bainbridge  think  about  it  ? "  ven 
tured  Smith. 

Lawrence  bent  on  him  a  look  which,  though  not 
severe,  made  him  wish  he  had  held  his  tongue. 

"  That  is  a  thoughtless  question,  Smith,"  he  re 
plied  gravely,  "  and  one  that  I  would  answer  to  few 
men.  But  to  you  I  will  give  three  answers  :  First, 
Bainbridge  is  not  here  ;  second,  if  he  were,  he  would 
agree  with  me,  supposing  I  asked  his  opinion  ;  third, 
I  wouldn't  ask  it.  Upon  such  a  point  I  have 'never  yet 
found  it  necessary  to  consult  anyone,  even  Commo 
dore  Bainbridge.  Cheer  up,  lad,"  he  continued  with  a 
laugh  at  Smith's  confusion,  "  I  am  not  offended.  We  are 
going  out  to-morrow  and  we  are  going  to  win.  There  is 
only  one  bit  of  anxiety  I  want  to  mention  to  you,  Smith, 
while  I  think  of  it,  for  I  don't  like  to  think  of  it  too  often 
you  know.  If  anything  happens  to  me,  send  warning  to 
my  father-in-law  immediately.  Mrs.  Lawrence,  as  you 
know,  must  not  hear  bad  news  for  some  time  to  come. 
Now,  I  want  you  to  go  aboard  the  Constitution  and  get 
volunteers.  She  is  still  here  refitting  and  Parker,  her 
first  luff,  says  we  may  have  any  men  who  want  to  come." 

On  the  Constitution  Smith  straightway  sought  Ben 
Orrin.  The  old  warrior  was  delighted  to  see  him,  but 


1 12  Smith  Brunt. 

to  his  utter  astonishment  hesitated  at  the  proposition  of 
volunteering. 

"  Oh,  no,  no  sir,  it  ain't  that "  he  replied  to  a  somewhat 
scornful  query  about  fear  of  the  Chesapeake.  "The 
Lord's  hand  seemeth  verily  to  be  against  that  ship, 
but  it  is  not  for  me  to  calculate  upon  His 
ways.  I  am  too  old  a  seaman  and  too  near  my  end  to  be 
considerm1  good  and  bad  luck,  with  an  enemy  in 
sight.  When  the  Lord  is  ready  He  will  call  me  out  of 
any  craft,  and  I  would  rather  have  Him  find  me  at 
quarters  on  a  bad  ship  than  tryin'  to  dodge  Him  on  a 
lucky  one.  No,  no,  'tis  another  reason  I'm  thinkin'  of." 
He  looked  silently  into  his  hat  for  some  minutes  and 
at  last  said,  "Well,  sir,  if  Captain  Lawrence  is  surely 
going  out  to-morrow,  I'll  come  to-night,  and  bring  with 
me  all  I  can.  Would  you  kindly  try  to  have  me 
stationed  at  quarters  near  you,  sir,  and  that  jack-a- 
napes  nephew  of  my  old  woman's,  too  ?  'Tis  in  my 
mind  that  this  will  be  no  Hornet-Peacock  business." 

That  evening  Lawrence  and  Smith  dined  ashore,  for 
the  Captain  had  not  yet  found  time  to  arrange  for  his 
own  comforts.  After  dinner  they  went  back  to  the 
frigate,  and  to  the  hail  Lawrence  responded,  "  No,  no," 
the  reply  of  a  steerage  officer. 

"  Everything  is  in  a  mess  and  I  don't  want  to  bother 
them  with  the  side,"  he  explained.  "Besides  I'd 
like  to  come  aboard  quietly  and  see  how  things  are 

going." 

The  day  had  been  foggy  and  wet  and 
the  clouds  were  now  breaking  before  the  moon,  it 
was  still  very  dark.  As  Lawrence  ascended  the 
dripping  side  ladder,  he  slipped  on  the  topmost  step 
and  fell  between  the  ladder  and  the  man-rope.  Catch 
ing  the  rope  he  hung  a  moment  above  the  water,  until  a 


From  the  High  Barbary.  113 

long  arm  reached  down  and  lifted  him,  large  man 
though  he  was,  to  the  grating. 

Stepping  to  the  deck  with  a  laugh  and  a  "  Thank  you, 
my  lad,"  the  captain  turned  to  look  at  the  man  who 
v/as  powerful  enough  to  have  helped  him  aboard  so 
unceremoniously,  but  so  opportunely.  It  was  seldom 
that  Captain  James  Lawrence  looked  into  a  face  as 
high  from  the  deck  as  his  own  ;  this  time  he  had  to  turn 
his  own  eyes  upward.  Then  his  glance  travelled  slowly 
down  and  up  again  over  the  form  before  him.  He 
remained  silent  a  moment,  perhaps  in  admiration  ;  for 
that  was  the  first  expression  in  his  face,  but  it  changed 
gradually  to  a  look  of  reflection  and  close  scrutiny,  as 
the  moon-light  pierced  through  the  clouds  and  fell 
upon  the  tall  seaman.  The  latter  pulled  his  forelock 
and  started  to  retire. 

"  Stop  a  moment,"  commanded  Lawrence.  "  What  is 
your  name  ?  " 

"  Orrin,  sir,"  came  the  reply. 

"  Orrin,  Orrin,"  repeated  the  Captain.  "  Then  you 
have  not  always  been  called  by  your  name." 

"  'Tis  the  name  I  came  by  honestly  sir,  from  my 
parents." 

"  That  may  be.     What  is  your  place  on  this  ship  ?  " 

"  None,  sir.  I  belong  to  the  Constitution.  I  have  but 
just  come  aboard,  and  only  for  the  fight." 

"  Good.  You  look  like  that  kind  of  a  man.  Orrin  ? 
Orrin  ?  Why,  Mr.  Brunt,"  he  exclaimed,  turning  to 
Smith  who  had  just  then  followed  him  over  the  side, 
"Is  this  the  man  of  whom  I  have  heard  you  speak  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Brunt  can  vouch  for  me,  sir,  and  my  name," 
spoke  up  the  giant.  "  He  has  known  me  at  home  and 
all  about  me." 


114  Smith   Brunt. 

"  Yes,  of  course,  this  is  Ben  Orrin,"  verified  Smith, 
"  and  he  is  worth  half  a  ship's  company." 

"  Well  come  aft  Orrin.  I  want  to  speak  to  you.  You 
also,  Mr.  Brunt,  if  you  please,"  and  Lawrence  led  the 
way  aft. 

Seating  himself  on  a  carronade,  the  Captain  again 
scrutinized  in  the  moonlight  the  seaman  who  towered 
before  him.  Then  he  threw  back  his  head  laughing 
softly,  and  the  peculiarity  of  his  next  order  startled 
Smith. 

"  Take  off  your  jacket  and  shirt." 

The  old  tar,  who  had  hitherto  been  perfectly  stolid, 
knowing  well  his  manners,  now  smiled. 

"  No  need  of  that,  Captain  Lawrence,"  he  said.  "  The 
marks  are  there." 

"That  I  looked  at  once  for  two  hours  on  just  such  a 
night  as  this,  eh,  my  old  Enterprise  ?  I  thought  there 
could  not  be  another  such  a  pair  of  shoulders  in  the 
world,"  exclaimed  Lawrence.  "And  it  is  not  every 
one  who  could  lift  me  like  a  child.  I  remember  how 
you  hove  the  ketch  alongside  when  the  alarm  was  given. 
But  your  name  then  was  not  Orrin,  that  I'll  swear. 
Let  me  see,  it  was— it  was — I  have  it— Benjamin  !  It 
was  Benjamin." 

"Aye,"  replied  the  seaman  calmly.  "Orrin  Ben 
jamin  or  Benjamin  Orrin,  it  makes  little  odds." 

"Well,"  laughed  Lawrence  in  high  glee  at  his  dis 
covery  "It  makes  no  difference  tome  how  or  why 
you  may  twist  your  name.  Very  likely  you  have  good 
reasons  that  are  no  business  of  mine.  You  had  a 
reputation  for  an  honest  man-o'-  warsman  on  the 
Enterprise,  and  to  find  on  this  ship  to-night  one  of  the 
swords  that  swept  the  Philadelphia,  by  George,  it's  like 
a  bugle-blast  from  Heaven." 


From  the   High   Barbary.  115 

"  Aye,  I  wish  we  had  more  of  them,"  answered  Orrin 
in  a  deep  growl. 

"  What  a  night  that  was  !  "  continued  Lawrence 
relaxing  all  formality  in  the  enthusiasm  of  his  awakened 
memory.  "  I  lay  just  behind  him  in  the  Intrepid, 
Smith,  and  studied  that  tattooing  on  his  right  shoulder 
all  the  time  we  were  creeping  on  the  Moors.  No  won 
der  I  remembered  you.  Why,  by  George,  you  were 
gunner  on  the  Enterprise.  I  heard  of  you  again  some 
where  afterwards,"  he  went  on  slowly,  "  where  was 
that — on  the  Siren  ?  the  Nautilus  ? — let  me  see  " — sud 
denly  Lawrence's  face  assumed  an  almost  startled  look, 
his  mouth  opened  slowly,  his  brows  drew  together,  and 
his  eyes  stared  at  the  veteran  as  though  at  a  ghost. 

"Simms,  Tompline,  Harris,"  he  repeated  slowly, 
"  Keith, — Benjamin  \  "  He  leaped  from  the  gun  on 
which  he  had  been  sitting,  and  trembling  with  excite 
ment  almost  shouted,  "  Good  God,  man  !  You  were 
one  of  those  who  went  with  Somers  !  Oren  Benjamin 
or  Benjamin  Orrin,  why  you  want  to  conceal  yourself  I 
don't  know  and  don't  care,  but  don't  lie  to  me  about 
that.  I  know  you  went  with  Somers.  The  sea  has 
given  up  it's  dead!  If  you  be  really  flesh  and  blood, 
tell  me  about  that  and  tell  me  the  truth." 

Smith  thought  he  was  beginning  to  see  a  little  into 
the  mystery  of  Ben  Orrin.  Breathlessly  he  watched  the 
old  man's  face  and  saw  it  work  curiously  a  moment,, 
whether  with  anger  or  grief  he  could  not  tell. 

"  Aye,  aye,"  came  at  last  from  the  depths  of  the 
gigantic  chest.  "  I  had  feared  this.  But  God  save  me 
from  a  lie.  Captain  Lawrence  you  spoke  truth  when 
you  said  I  was  known  for  an  honest  man-o'warsman, 
when  last  you  knew  me.  That  was  near  nine  years 
agone.  Mr.  Brunt  here  has  known  me  for  seven  and 


n6  Smith   Brunt. 

he  '11  tell  you  the  same.  What  happened  between,  and 
why  I  thought  right  to  end-for-end  my  name,  was 
no  shame,  the  Lord  knows,  but  'tis  not  my  secret  and 
I'll  never  tell  it  till  the  right  time  comes.  I'll  tell  you 
all  you  want  to  know,  but,  gentlemen,  I  ask  ye  both 
never  to  say  you  heard  it  from  Orrin  Benjamin,  for  he 
is  dead.  He  died  with  Captain  Somers,  and  nobody 
can  ever  know  where  he  went  or  what  he  did  after  that 
till  the  time  comes  for  him  to  tell.  He  did  no  wrong 
and  nothing  that  had  ought  be  known,  so  help  me  God, 
and  'twas  a  private  affair  that  consarns  no  one  in  this 
land.  If  ye  promise  me  this  I'll  tell  ye  the  rest." 

"  Did  I  ever  play  detective  with  any  of  the  men  on 
the  Enterprise  ? "  asked  Lawrence,  who  had  now  re 
covered  his  composure  and  reseated  himself.  "  Tell 
me  only  what  happened  to  the  Intrepid  and  I'll  ask 
you  no  further  questions." 

"  Mr.  Brunt,  you'll  promise  me  the  same,  sir?  Squire 
Lawrence  knows  what  I'm  going  to  tell  you,  but  no 
one  else  must.  He  says  I  be  over-cautious  and  per 
haps  I  be,  but  the  more  there  is  to  find  out  the  longer 
'twill  take  to  do  it,  and  holding  my  peace  may  save  me 
a  lie.  So  you'll  say  no  word  of  Orrin  Benjamin,  sir  ?" 

Smith  assented  eagerly,  and  the  old  man  began 
his  story. 

"  That  night,  you  may  remember,  sir,  was  thick  with 
a  mist  over  the  water  but  clearing  away  so  the  stars 
showed  overhead.  Just  before  getting  under  way, 
Captain  Somers  asked  if  any  man  wanted  to  go  back 
for  this  was  the  last  chance  to  do  it,  but,  of  course, 
nobody  did.  You  know  how  the  service  was  in  those 
days,  sir.  You  young  gentlemen  were  all  for  playing 
boys'  tricks,  asking  your  pardon,  and  indeed,  sir,  'tis 
more  to  my  stomach  to  strive  with  the  barbarous 


From  the   High   Barbary.  117 

heathen  like  that,  than  with  one's  own  Christian 
brethren,  as  we  be  doing  now.  Every  man  Jack 
wanted  to  touch  off  the  magazine.  We  had  a  hundred 
barrels  of  powder  stowed  for'ard  with  bomb-shells 
over  them,  and  abaft  that  a  lot  of  kindlin'  stuff, — 'twas 
a  wicked  cargo. 

"  After  we  got  well  under  way  young  Mr.  Israel  came 
up  from  below,  having  come  aboard  unbeknown  and 
hidden  himself.  Captain  Somers  was  angry  with  him 
at  first,  but  let  him  stay.  There  was  a  good  easterly 
breeze,  and  we  slipped  along  nicely  for  the  north  en 
trance  of  the  harbour. 

"You  may  have  noticed  that  evening,  at  dusk,  three 
gunboats  lying  just  inside  where  we  had  to  go.  I 
mind  me  that  Captain  Decatur  had  pointed  them  out 
to  Captain  Somers  and  warned  him  to  take  care  for 
them.  We  kept  pretty  well  to  the  east  so  as  to  give 
them  a  wide  berth,  and  when  we  thought  we  had  stood 
far  enough  to  the  southeast  to  clear  them  and  the 
rocks  we  kept  off  and  ran  for  the  fleet.  But  either  the 
gunboats  had  shifted  or  more  had  come  up,  (the  real 
thing  as  I  think  from  what  happened  later  was  that  we 
had  somehow  misjudged  our  southing),  for  we  hadn't 
run  long  enough  to  the  west  to  reach  the  fleet  when  we 
were  hailed  through  the  fog.  I  was  standing  aft  near 
the  officers  and  I  heard  Captain  Somers  say. 

"  '  We  are  in  for  it  now,'  he  says.  *  The  only  thing 
to  do  is  to  scare  them  off,  and  get  to  the  fleet  as  quick 
as  we  can.'  So  he  answered  right  up  in  Eyetalian 
lingo  *  Amerikanos,  they  are  coming — Fly  for  your 
lives.5 

"  And  young  Mr.  Israel  who  was  but  a  lad,  sang  out 
from  for'ard  '  Amerikanos,  Amerikanos,  Allah  pre- 


Ii8  Smith  Brunt. 

"  And  Mr.  Wadsworth,  too,  mocked  them  and  cried 
out,  I  mind  me,  '  By  the  beard  of  the  prophet  look  out 
for  thy  nob,'  for  they  were  all  lighthearted  and  merry 
in  their  talk  always,  being  young.  And  then  we  all 
took  it  up  and  mimicked  their  jargon  and  made  out  to 
be  in  a  great  fright.  And  verily  I  believe  the  heathen 
were  smote  with  fear,  having  had  a  taste  of  such 
doings  before,  as  you  know  ;  for  we  heard  a  great  cry 
ing  and  hurrying  about  in  the  darkness.  From  the 
sounds  we  knew  we  had  passed  them  and  hoped  to  be 
shortly  in  among  the  fleet  by  the  batteries  ;  but  all  of 
a  sudden  we  fetched  up  all  standing.  I  know  now 
that  we  had  not  stood  far  enough  to  the  south  before 
keeping  off,  for  'twas  the  rocks  to  the  north  we 
struck  on.  We  backed  the  headsail  and  tried  to  swing 
her  off,  but  'twas  no  use  ;  she  was  hard  and  fast.  I 
was  an  ungodly  man  then,  sir,  though  an  honest  one, 
and  I  swore,  God  forgive  me,  and  so  did  the  others 
when  we  had  ought  to  been  praying.  And  maybe  it 
was  for  that,  that  the  devil  having  mastery  over  us  in 
a  small  thing,  put  it  into  our  minds  to  do  worse. 

"Captain  Somers  spoke  up  and  says  he  'Lads,  we 
have  the  two  boats  and  we  can  blow  up  this  old  hulk 
and  yet  row  away  safe.  Shall  we  use  all  this  good 
powder  for  fireworks  and  leave  the  Turks  no  worse  for 
the  show  ?'  says  he. 

"  And  we  all  shouted  no,  but  to  stay  there  and  see  it 
out  ;  and  that  is  what  I  think  the  devil  put  into  our 
hearts  ;  for  I  hold  it  a  mad  and  a  wicked  thing  to 
throw  away  two  such  officers  as  Captain  Somers  and 
Mr.  Wadsworth,  not  to  speak  of  Mr.  Midshipman 
Israel  and  the  rest  of  us,  just  to  blow  up  a  few  gun 
boats.  For  then  'twas  not  as  it  was  at  first,  when  we 
could  do  great  harm  to  the  enemy.  After  we  grounded, 


From  the   High   Barbary.  119 

we  were  all  sure  to  die  if  we  stayed,  unless  Providence 
disposed  otherwise,  and  we  could  harm  only  them  as 
came  to  us.  But  we  were  all  violent  then  at  the  mis- 
hap/  and  ashamed  to  go  back  to  our  ships  and  be  a 
laughing  stock  unto  our  enemies. 

"  The  pirates  had  took  the  alarm,  and  every  battery 
and  gunboat  in  the  harbour  begun  blazing  away,  though 
what  they  could  be  aiming  at  made  us  laugh  to  think. 
They  must  have  got  nervous-like  about  them  goings- 
on  at  night,  since  we  burned  the  Philadelphia.  I  heard 
Captain  Somers  say  : 

"  'These  people  have  a  saying  that  when  the  moun 
tain  won't  come  to  Mahomet,  Mahomet  must  go  to  the 
mountain.  We  shall  have  to  play  the  mountain,  and 
see  whether  Mahomet  keeps  up  his  sensible  practice,' 
says  he. 

"  '  Faith  then/  says  Mr.  Wadsworth  '  his  children  do, 
for  here  they  come.'  And  sure  enough  we  heard  oars 
and  saw  a  great  galley  loom  through  the  fog  close 
aboard  and  then  another  and  another. 

"'Well,'  says  Captain  Somers,  'if  the  company  is 
coming  I  must  go  below  and  cook  the  supper.  You 
stay  on  deck  and  receive  the  guests.  When  they  are 
all  here  we'll  start  the  music.' 

"  With  that  he  picked  up  a  lantern  and  lighted  it  very 
cool.  The  gunboat  was  right  on  us  now,  and  the 
heathen  give  a  yell  when  they  see  the  light.  I  guess 
they  got  closer  than  they  meant  to  in  the  fog.  Captain 
Somers  sang  out  to  grapple  them  before  they  could 
draw  off.  Then  he  shook  Mr.  Wadsworth  by  the  hand, 
and  just  said  '  Good-bye,'  and  ran  for'ard  and  down 
the  hatch-way,  with  the  lantern. 

"Well,  sir,  we  had  the  galley  fast  before  she  could 
back  away,  and  then  another  one  ran  us  aboard  too, 


i  20  Smith   Brunt. 

seeing  our  size,  I  suppose,  and  because  she  didn't  dare 
fire  at  us  while  we  were  closed  with  her  consort.  'Twas 
too  black  to  do  anything  with  the  guns  anyway.  In  a 
minute,  the  corsairs  were  swarming  all  over  us.  I  was 
at  the  larboard  side  just  where  the  first  galley  was  foul 
6f  us.  When  I  struck  the  second  man,  my  cutlash 
went  through  him  and  struck  the  rail  and  broke  off 
short  at  the  hilt.  Indeed,  sir,  a  cutlash  is  not  a  reli 
able  weapon,  for  twice  I  have  had  that  same  thing 
happen.  A  boarding  axe  with  a  steel  heft  is  far  better 
to  my  mind,  for  it  cannot  break  with  you  and  it  cuts 
both  ways.  Howsomever,  'twas  that  very  accident  that 
saved  my  life,  for  being  without  a  weapon,  I  had  to 
seize  upon  the  next  two  heathen  and  crack  their  heads 
together.  Whilst  I  was  leaning  over  the  side,  busy 
about  this,  something  struck  me  from  behind  so  hard 
that  I  lost  my  balance  and  went  overboard  with  a  Turk 
in  each  hand.  I  finished  with  them  under  water,  but 
as  I  came  to  the  top  I  felt  a  terrible  jar  as  though  some 
one  had  give  me  a  blow  in  every  part  of  my  body  to 
once.  I  was  near  blinded  by  the  glare  I  saw,  and  my 
right  ear  has  never  been  any  use  to  me  since.  After 
that  I  don't  know  rightly  what  I  did,  being  blinded 
and  dizzed,  but  I  remember  of  getting  hold  to  some 
thing,  and  then  my  mind  went  from  me. 

"  When  I  got  sense  again  I  was  lying  on  the  beach  and 
there  was  a-looking  at  me  an  old  man  with  a  turb'an  and 
a  long,  gray  beard.  I  heard  him  say  in  his  lingo,  which 
I  understand  a  little,  *  This  dog  is  alive.  He  must  have 
the  stren-gth  of  six  oxen.  He  will  bring  many  ducats.' 
Then  he  called  some  big  black  slaves  and  they  came 
and  lashed  my  arms  together.  I  was  so  weak  and 
dizzy  that  I  couldn't  move,  like  in  a  bad  dream. 
Whether  anyone  else  came  out  alive  I  don't  know,  but 


From  the   High   Barbary.  121 

the  old  man  told  me  they  were  all  dead  and  indeed  I 
believe  he  spoke  truth,  for  anywheres  near  that  mine, 
unless  a  man  had  been  in  the  water,  as  I  was,  he  must 
have  surely  perished.  I  have  heard  tell  that  one  of  the 
Barbary  gunboats  went  down  and  two  more  were  spoiled 
for  them.  That  is  all,  sir." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lawrence,  when  he  had  finished.  "  You 
are  the  only  survivor  of  whom  I  or  anyone  else  ever 
heard.  It  was  as  bold  a  deed  as  ever  was  done.  You 
must  have  strong  reason  for  concealing  your  identity. 
Good  Heavens,  man,  you  could  have  the  best  warrant- 
berth  in  the  service  !  " 

"  I  have  held  a  warrant,  Captain  Lawrence,  as  you 
know,"  replied  the  old  tar;  "  and  Captain  Bainbridge 
has  said  that  I  have  earned  another,  but  'tis  in  my  mind 
not  to  stay  in  the  service  after  this  war  if  I  last  it  out. 
I've  given  the  service  something  better,  sir,  than  even 
a  warrant  officer,  for  as  Mr.  Brunt  may  have  told  you, 
I've  put  into  it  a  little  gentleman  to  be  a  commissioned 
officer  and  a  good  one,  and  some  day  maybe  a  great 
commodore,  though  I  shall  never  see  that.  But  I  ask 
you  again,  sir,  never  tell  aught  of  me." 

"  Well  you  are  a  strange  fish,"  said  Lawrence,  "  but 
I  won't  interfere  with  your  secrets.  After  all  there  is 
nothing  to  report  but  the  details  and  the  fact  that 
Captain  Somers  blew  up  the  Intrepid  with  his  own 
hand,  and  of  that  we  all  felt  sure  anyway.  But  while 
you  serve  under  me  you  shall  have  any  position  that  I 
can  give  you." 

"  I  want  nothing,  sir,  except — except  one  thing," 
answered  Orrin,  and  then  continued  hesitatingly,  but 
very  earnestly,  "  May  an  old  sailorman  who  has  been 
in  the  service  off  and  on  for  near  forty  year,  and  whc 
has  served  under  you  in  the  Mediterranean,  aye  and 


122  Smith  Brunt. 

watched  you,  Captain  Lawrence,  before  that,  too,  when 
you  was  a  young  reefer,  in  the  war  against  the  French, 
may  I  speak  plain  to  you,  sir,  about  one  thing  as  I  never 
would  say  to  my  captain  but  by  your  favor  ? " 

"  Go  ahead,"  answered  Lawrence,  "  Say  what  you 
like,  and  if  it  is  anything  I  can  do,  I'll  do  it." 

"  Then,  sir,"  exclaimed  the  old  man.  "  For  the  love 
of  Heaven,  and  the  honor  of  the  service,  don't  go  to 
fight  that  Englishman  to-morrow." 

Lawrence  straightened  his  back  at  this  appeal  and 
bit  his  lip  a  little.  "For  the  honour  of  the  service, 
that  I  can  not  grant,"  said  he,  "  and  indeed  it  is  a 
strange  request  from  one  of  the  old  Barbary  boarders." 

"  'Tis  because  I  am  one  of  the  old  lot,  sir,  and  know 
what  a  crew  ought  to  be.  And  'tis  not  Moorish  men 
that  you  are  going  to  meet,  sir,  but  your  own  kind  to 
whom  you  can  give  no  great  odds." 

"  You  forget  that  I  have  already  had  some  experi 
ence  with  these  brethren,"  replied  Lawrence  smiling. 

"  Aye,  sir,  and  'twas  a  pretty  victory  you  won,  I'm 
not  gainsayin'  you  that,  not  one  bit  of  it.  But  can  you 
see  no  difference,  sir,  betwixt  your  last  ship's  company 
and  this  ?  You  had  commanded  the  Hornet  for  two 
years,  and  her  men  tell  me  you  knew  the  nickname  of 
every  powder  monkey  aboard,  and  every  one  of  'em 
knew  you,  and  all  that  could  have  followed  you  here. 
This  ship  you  have  had  less  than  two  weeks,  and  'tis 
not  your  fault,  sir,  that  her  people  are  the  greenest 
and  worst  lot  ever  I  set  eyes  on  in  a  U.  S.  ship.  Most 
of  'em  is  landsmen  ;  nigh  half  of  'em  is  foreigners, 
and  a  good  part  of  the  rest  is  renegade  Britishers — 
not  honest  Yankees  who  have  some  time  or  other  been 
pressed  into  their  cursed  service,  but  real  Englishmen 
who,  bad  as  they  may  have  been  treated,  have  no  call 


From  the  High   Barbary.  123 

to  fight  against  their  flag.  'Tis  unsociable  fighting 
with  that  kind  behind  one's  shoulder.  Besides,  sir," 
he  continued  rather  apologetically,  "  though  I  ain't 
sayin'  a  word  against  your  fight,  which  you  won  sea- 
manlike  and  handsome  as  ever  a  fight  was  won,  and 
would  have  won  it,  too,  against  a  good  deal  better 
gunnery  than  the  Peacock's,  still  the  British  ships  ain't 
all  Peacock's.  I  have  helped  in  the  taking  of  two  of 
them  in  this  war,  and  'twas  also  no  hard  matter  about 
either  of  them,  though  they  were  fought  brave 
enough  ;  and  the  others  we  have  so  far  come  by  at  no 
great  cost.  We-  have  got  a  high  stomach  and  verily 
pride  is  ever  a  wicked  thing.  But  I  have  fought  these 
same  English  before  ever  you  were  born,  sir.  I  have 
layed  alongside  them  a  full  eight  glasses,  aye,  four 
hours  with  the  yard  arms  locked,  and  the  ships  lashed 
together,  and  the  rammers  running  through  each 
other's  ports."  The  old  man  drew  himself  up  until 
his  eyes  seemed  to  glow  among  the  stars.  "There  we 
lay  and  fought  by  the  battle  lanterns  and  the  moon 
light,  every  minute  of  that  time,  except  when  both  of 
us  would  blaze  up  in  fire  from  the  hold  to  the  tops. 
And  as  soon  as  we  got  the  flames  out,  we  would  go  at  it 
again  with  pistols  and  pikes  and  cutlashes,  and  neither 
one  could  board  the  other  ;  and  the  whole  of  our  sides 
was  shot  away  wherever  the  great  guns  bore,  so  that 
the  quarter-deck  stood  on  naught  but  three  stanchions  ; 
and  part  of  the  time  the  cursed  French  traitor  was 
firing  into  our  backs.  And  at  last  all  the  guns  that  we 
could  use  were  blown  up  or  knocked  over,  and  we 
kept  it  up  with  small  arms  and  hand-grenades,  and  cut 
and  thrust  and  shot  through  the  ports  and  over  the 
bulwarks,  like — like  mad  beasts  at  Ephesus,  God  for 
give  us,"  and  he  changed  his  tone  and  shook  his  head, 


i  24  Smith   Brunt. 

bethinking  himself  that  it  was  time  for  a  scriptural 
text  and  a  meeker  spirit.  "  Indeed  'twas  a  merciful 
thing  that  I  lay  out  on  the  main  yard  arm  and  dropped 
a  grenade  through  a  hatchway  onto  a  pile  of  powder- 
bags  on  her  gundeck.  That  settled  it.  We  took  her, 
but  we'd  lost  full  as  many  men  as  she  and  when  we 
got  aboard  the  prize  and  cast  her  off  our  old  hulk 
went  down  being  shot  all  to  wrack.  And  that,  sir,  was 
under  the  greatest  captain,  to  my  mind  and  saving 
your  presence,  that  ever  lived." 

Lawrence  and  Smith  had  listened  to  this  outburst, 
spellbound  by  the  strange  orator.  When  he  had 
finished  Lawrence  said, 

"  No  wonder  you  marked  the  scar  on  your  shoulder. 
I  remember  hearing  on  the  Enterprise  that  you  had 
served  under  Paul  Jones." 

"  Aye,  sir,  I  was  with  him  on  the  Richard  and  before 
that  on  the  Ranger  when  we  took  the  Drake.  They  tell 
me  he  is  gone  now,  the  Lord  rest  his  soul.  A  bad  ship, 
as  we  had  that  night,  (for  the  Richard  was  as  rotten  a 
hulk  as  ever  I  saw)  could  not  keep  him  from  winning, 
and  a  false  treacherous  consort  could  not  keep  him 
from  winning,  and  the  bulk  of  our  crew  was  bad,  too, 
until  we  hammered  them  into  shape  ;  but  Commodore 
Jones  would  never  go  out  with  this  ship's  company  to 
morrow,  Captain  Lawrence,  and  if  he  stood  here  in  my 
place,  sir,  he  would  beg  you  not  to  do  it." 

James  Lawrence  was  not  usually  inclined  to  take 
advice  of  this  sort  gently,  but  he  now  replied  to  his 
seaman  quietly,  almost  deferentially,  as  to  a  spirit  of 
the  past. 

"  The  crew  is  not  all  I  could  wish,  I  know  that  well 
enough,  Benjamin,  Mr.  Benjamin  (for  a  warrant  officer 
you  are).  But  there  are  my  old  Hornets  and  you  and 


From  the   High  Barbary.  125 

your  shipmates,  and,  I  think  enough  other  good  and 
true  men  to  keep  the  rest  steady.  The  ship  is  ready 
for  sea,  and  I  cannot  keep  her  longer  in  port  merely 
because  one  Englishman  of  our  own  size  presumes  to 
blockade  us." 

"Ah,  sir,"  quoth  Orrin,  "  I  can  not  but  think  young 
officers  are  at  times  overmuch  nervous  of  their  honour, 
if  you  will  forgive  an  old  man  for  saying  so.  You  go 
forth  sometimes  and  slay  one  another,  and  you  even 
risk  the  government  ships  for  that  same  honour.  Maybe 
'tis  good  for  the  service,  and  surely  I  will  never  gain 
say  to  my  betters  what  I  do  not  understand  ;  but  it 
does  seem  to  an  old  bluejacket  like  me,  sir,  that  you 
might  wait  a  week  or  so,  and  then,  if  what  the  English 
man  wants  is  a  fight,  you  can  give  him  better  satisfac 
tion." 

Lawrence  laughed  good-naturedly,  though  rather 
nettled  at  having  condescended  to  argue  with  one  of 
his  crew,  even  such  a  veteran,  with  such  a  result. 

"We  won't  discuss  that,"  he  said.  "You  may  go 
forward  now,  and  for  to-morrow  choose  whatever  sta 
tion  you  please.  I  think  I  can  rely  on  at  least  one 
man  to  do  his  duty,  in  spite  of  his  disapproval  of  my 
course." 

"  Indeed  you  can,  sir.  I'm  neither  mutineer  nor 
soldier  at  my  age,  though  I'm  feared  I've  spoken  un- 
seamanly,"  said  Orrin,  fearfully  conscious  of  having 
verged  on  a  lecture  to  his  commanding  officer.  "  I 
hope  you'll  forgive  me,  sir.  'Twas  by  your  leave." 
He  took  up  his  hat  from  the  deck  and  turned. 

"Of  course,"  replied  Lawrence.  "And,  Mr.  Benja 
min,  one  moment"  He  rose,  and  stepping  up  to  his 
sailor  held  out  his  hand. 


126  Smith   Brunt. 

"If  you  have  denied  yourself  honour  from  the 
nation,"  said  he,  "  you  will  at  least  accept  it  from  me." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  muttered  the  old  man,  taking  his 
captain's  hand.  "  That's  better  than  a  medal  from 
them  Congressmen." 

Then,  holding  himself  very  straight,  he  descended 
the  quarter-deck  ladder  and  swung  forward  till  his  tall 
form  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A    RARE    DAY    IN    JUNE. 

D  RIGHT  and  fair  over  Boston  Bay,  in  the  year  of 
^— '  grace  1813,  came  June,  the  month  of  brides  and 
roses.  The  fog  that  had  shrouded  the  last  of  May 
vanished  and  disclosed  in  the  offing  the  sails  of  a  sin 
gle  frigate.  A  scouting  pilot  boat  came  into  port  with 
the  news  that  the  Tenedos  had  really  gone,  and  that  the 
Shannon  alone  taunted  Boston.  That  was  enough  for 
Captain  James  Lawrence.  By  noon  the  Chesapeake, 
tall  and  graceful  like  her  knightly  commander,  and 
bowing  with  courtesy  to  her  foe,  came  into  the  broad 
lists  like  a  champion  of  old — and  with  just  about  as 
much  sense. 

On  her  deck  Smith  Brunt  exulted.  All  the  past 
winter  had  he  chafed  on  shore  while  one  after  another, 
in  single  fight,  were  taken  five  vessels  of  the  great  Eng 
lish  navy.  Now,  at  last,  he  was  actually  going  forth  to 
play  his  part  in  the  taking  of  the  sixth.  The  Shannon 
was  no  stronger  than  the  Chesapeake,  and  never  yet  had 
we  lost  a  ship  to  anything  like  an  equal  force,  nor  had 
we  even  paid  dearly  for  our  victories.  His  luck  had 
turned  at  last.  Old  Orrin's  warning  he  banished  from 
his  mind,  as  he  looked  across  the  quarter-deck  at  his 
hero  all  glorious  in  the  sunlight  in  blue  and  white 
and  gold,  with  eyes  as  bright  as  his  epaulettes.  That 
brilliant,  mighty  figure  seemed  the  very  personification 
of  victory.  In  those  days  gentlemen  dressed  them 
selves  as  such  for  battle, — which  may  be  one  reason 
why  so  few  comparatively  have  survived. 

127 


128  Smith   Brunt. 

The  emotions  of  Carman  Hawkins  were  more  tem 
pered  with  his  native  caution. 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  he  observed.  "  This  crowd 
would  likely  do  better  in  a  melon  patch.  But  I  guess 
there  ain't  no  great  risk.  I  kind  o'  think  an  English 
gunner  coudn't  hit  a  barn  if  you  locked  him  up  inside 
of  it.  Leastways,  that's  my  experience." 

"And  your  experience  is  mighty  little,  young  chat 
terbox,"  put  in  his  uncle,  Ben  Orrin  (as  I  shall  continue 
to  call  him,  adopting  his  own  down-east  pronunciation 
and  the  resultant  misspelling).  "  He  who  goeth  forth 
to  battle  with  a  vain  spirit  and  idle  scoffings  like  that, 
verily  he  will  be  sore  surprised  and  lose  heart  when  his 
enemies — when  the  Philistines — when,  when, — well, 
when  the  iron  begins  to  come  aboard.  Gird  up  thy 
loins  and  pray  to  the  Lord  ;  that's  the  way  to  smite 
thine  enemies." 

"  Old  man,  he  know  somet'ings,"  said  a  voice  in 
broken  English.  "  He  right,  it  weel  be  not  a  peekneek, 
how  you  call  it  ?  Better  we  go  back.  Notta  right  poor 
sailor  he  get  killed,  just  to  please  fine  captain,  eh  ?  " 

"Who  said  that?"  roared  Orrin.  "  You  dare  put 
such  words  in  my  mouth,  you  white-livered  son  of  a 
Portygee  cook  ?  Open  your  lying  lips  like  that  again, 
and  I'll  kick  you  into  the  foretop.  Go  stow  yourself 
under  a  bunk,  you  dirty  foreigner,  and  we'll  show  you 
how  to  fight  in  English.  Who  are  you  to  talk  about 
your  captain  that  way,  you  scurrilous,  seditiyous,  infidel 
Jacobim  ?  Obey  your  masters,  (that's  your  officers) 
and — and  look  alive,  neither  revile  not,  saith  the  Lord." 

This  wholesome  discourse  was  here  cut  off  by  the 
call  of  "  All  hands  lay  aft  into  the  waist.  The  Captain 
is  going  to  speak." 

It  was    the  custom  in  those  days  for  a  commander 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  129 

before  going  into  action,  to  address  his  men.  This 
Lawrence  did,  pointing  to  the  motto  flag  he  had  hoisted 
"  Free  Trade  and  Sailor's  Rights,"  reminding  the  crew 
that  this  was  a  sailors'  war,  undertaken  for  Jack's  own 
sake,  recalling  the  bitter  insult  and  wrong  done  to  this 
very  ship  six  years  before,  and  how  five  times  already 
the  offender  had  felt  the  wrath  he  had  provoked,  and 
saying  that  now  had  come  the  Chesapeake's  opportunity 
to  wreak  her  own  vengeance. 

At  the  finish  of  this  speech  and  before  the  true  man- 
o'-warsmen  present  had  begun  their  cheer,  a  Portu 
guese  stepped  forth,  and  with  a  swagger  that  be 
tokened  strong  backing  cried  out, 

"All  vera  well,  Captain,  all  vera  well  for  you  to  fight 
for  de  glory  and  de  revenge.  But  all  dat  for  officer. 
Us  poor  sailor  man,  we  most  leef  ;  where  ees  dat  prize 
money  dat  ees  owed  to  us  long  time  now  since  last 
cruise,  eh  ?  We  no  pull  rope  or  fight  till  we  paid,  eh  ?  " 

A  momentary  murmur  followed  this  speech,  and  then 
a  deep  silence.  Captain  Lawrence's  face  turned  crim 
son.  There  was  a  slight  movement  along  the  line  of 
marines,  every  one  of  whom  was  a  Yankee.  Then  from 
somewhere  forward  came  a  deep  snort,  and  surging  aft 
over  the  gathered  crew  appeared  the  head  and  shoulders 
of  Ben  Orrin.  Bursting  through  to  the  front  the  old  tar 
with  glaring  eyes  sought  the  speaker.  That  worthy  now 
thought  it  advisable  to  yield  the  floor  to  any  one  else 
who  might  wish  to  be  heard.  Orrin  checked  this 
modest  retirement,  however,  by  one  hand  applied  to  the 
man's  jacket,  and  set  him  several  paces  in  front  of  the 
crew  and  in  full  view  of  the  quarter  deck.  Then  the 
old  man  put  his  hands  on  his  hips,  and  looked  aft  appeal- 
ingly  for  further  and  more  satisfying  action.  The 
other  men  of  the  Constitution  and  the  old  Hornets  drew 


130  Smith   Brunt. 

quietly  together  and  waited  in  indignant  horror.  The 
officers,  too,  all  looked  at  the  Captain. 

Have  you  ever  been  brow-beaten  by  some  wretched 
hound  who  had  you  for  the  time  being  in  his  power  ? 
For  a  little  while  Lawrence  remained  silent.  He  looked 
seaward  at  the  foe,  whose  topsails  were  now  well  up. 
He  looked  back  at  the  town,  whose  roofs  were  black 
with  spectators.  Twice  he  paced  across  the  deck. 
Then  his  glance  fell  on  the  insolent,  but  now  thoroughly 
uncomfortable  mutineer  who  wriggled  beneath  it  and 
inwardly  cursed  the  strong  arm  that  had  kept  him  in 
prominence.  Yet  in  the  eye  of  the  commander,  there 
was  no  passion  left,  and  but  just  a  little  scorn.  Indeed 
he  even  smiled.  At  last,  in  a  tone  almost  gentle  but 
very  clear,  he  said 

"  Hornets,  you  have  sailed  with  me  two  years.  Has 
any  one  of  you  or  your  shipmates  ever  failed  to  get  his 
due  ? " 

At  once  went  up  a  shout  "  No  !  No,  sir  !  Never  by 
G !" 

Again  Lawrence,  still  smiling  at  the  foreigner, 
"  My  man  you  have  spoken  in  a  way  in  which  any  true 
man-o'-warsman  would  be  ashamed  to  speak,  either  to 
his  officer  or  anywhere.  Furthermore  you  have  chosen 
an  ill  time  for  your  demands, — in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 
By  all  the  rules  of  the  service  I  should  punish  you 
severely  ;  even  with  death  ;  but  you  do  not  know  me, 
and  I  may  yet  make  you  and  any  more  of  your  stripe 
that  may  be  aboard  into  seamen  worth  saving.  Now, 
hark  you.  The  purser  shall  give  prize  checks  to  you 
and  to  any  others  who  may  have  claims  on  the  books, 
for  the  amount  of  your  claims.  If  they  are  disputed  by 
the  government  I  will  be  responsible.  But  by  that  flag 
above  there,  which  you  had  better  pray  God,  my  man, 


A   Rare   Day  in  June.  131 

that  you  may  some  day  learn  to  love  like  a  true  sailor, 
by  that  flag  I  say,  as  I  deal  with  you,  so  shall  you  deal 
by  me  or  wish  you  had  never  been  born.  You  will  have 
a  chance  to  prove  your  faith  before  sundown.  Now 
go  to  your  quarters." 

Before  obeying  the  order,  every  true  man  in  the 
ship  gave  three  cheers  for  Captain  Lawrence,  and 
again  three  times  three. 

"  That  cuss  looks  meaner  than  he  would  hangin' 
from  the  yard  arm,"  said  one  of  the  Hornets. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  quoth  Carman  Hawkins.  "  If  he  was 
hanged,  he'd  look  just  as  nateral  and  pretty  as  a  peach 
on  a  tree.  There's  a  lot  more  o'  that  fruit  in  this  here 
ship  now  I'm  a  tellin'  you." 

"  It  would  be  a  good  job  to  go  back  and  hoist  away 
the  whole  of  'em  and  then  go  out  and  fight  Johnny 
Bull  with  a  clean  ship.  That's  what  the  old  man  had 
ought  to  'a  done." 

"  Shut  up,"  commanded  Orrin.  "Don't you  suppose 
the  Cap'n  knows  what  he's  about.  There's  been  enough 
growlin'  for  one  day." 

And  so,  in  spite  of  warning  and  with  a  mutinous 
crew,  splendid  young  Lawrence  sailed  out  to  his  death. 

At  quarters  Smith  had  charge  of  a  division  on  the 
starboard  side  of  the  gundeck.  Carman  Hawkins  was 
not  with  him,  but  that  sportsman  was  well  content, 
having  been  made  captain  of  one  of  the  quarter  deck 
carronades.  Several  of  Orrin's  shipmates  were  dis 
tributed  among  Smith's  guns,  and  told  off  for  first 
boarders.  The  old  giant  himself  was  stationed  near 
the  young  lieutenant.  Stripped  to  the  waist,  his  scarred 
and  tattooed  shoulders  and  pig-tailed  crest  could  be 
seen  above  the  crew  the  length  of  the  deck.  He 
stooped  his  head  to  avoid  the  beams  and  carlings  as  he 


132  Smith   Brunt. 

moved  about,  and  remarked  apologetically  that  the 
spar  deck  was  his  best  place  at  quarters,  but  Captain 
Lawrence  would  likely  call  him  up  there  before  long. 
Unlike  the  rest,  no  cutlass  hung  at  his  belt,  but  near 
him  lay  a  heavy  boarding  axe  he  had  brought  with  him. 

On  went  the  Chesapeake,  while  the  men  peered 
through  the  ports  and  spoke  in  low  tones,  those  inboard 
asking  from  the  lucky  ones  in  front  the  constant  ques 
tions,  "  Can  you  see  her  ? "  "  What  is  she  doing 
now  ?  "  At  last  Orrin,  who  was  leaning  out  over  a  port 
sill,  drew  back,  turned  to  Smith,  with  eyes  blazing,  and 
pointed  through  the  port. 

"Look,  sir,"  he  said. 

Smith  looked.  There,  on  the  starboard  bow,  not 
two  hundred  yards  off,  lay  the  enemy  headed  away  from 
them  on  the  starboard  tack  with  all  his  guns  run  out. 
His  position  was  almost  fatal. 

"  Praise  the  Lord  !  praise  the  Lord  !  we  shall  run 
under  his  starn,"  murmured  Ben.  "  The  young  captain 
has  managed  right  handsomely.  The  music  will  play 
on  this  side,  sir,  and  if  the  Britisher  is  not  quick  in 
wearing,  we  shall  rake  him  to  begin  with." 

Scarcely  had  Orrin  spoken  when  the  sails  shook 
overhead  and  the  blocks  creaked.  Quick  as  he  heard 
this  sound  the  veteran  bent  down  and  looked  again 
through  the  port.  Blank  dismay  came  into  his  face. 
He  drew  back,  bowed  his  grizzled  head  one  moment 
with  a  half-suppressed  groan,  then  straightened  him 
self,  folded  his  arms,  and  stood  like  a  statue,  looking 
straight  before  him. 

"  Luffed,"  the  word  ran  round  the  deck,  and  then  a 
murmur,  "  It'll  be  to  larboard."  Then  absolute  still 
ness.  The  water  rippled  against  the  frigate's  sides, 
and  except  for  that,  the  silence  seemed  to  Smith  to  grow 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  133 

and  grow  like  an  indefinable  thing  in  a  dream.  Ripple, 
ripple,  ripple,  would  it  never  end  ?  Ripple,  ripple — 
and  then  the  world  blew  up  !  For  the  first  time  Smith 
heard  the  crash  of  angry  iron,  and  saw  it  kill  men. 

In  a  way,  he  was  but  a  spectator  in  this,  his  first  bat 
tle,  nor  could  he  see  much.  Through  the  smoke  he 
caught  glimpses  across  the  deck  of  half-naked  forms, 
rammers,  flashes,  and  falling  men.  This  kept  up  for 
ten  minutes. 

Orrin  all  this  time  leaned  silent  and  motionless 
against  a  gun,  gazing  intently  out  of  the  useless  port 
beside  him  instead  of  at  the  opposite  side  where  the 
work  was  going  on.  Suddenly  he  turned  about,  stooped 
and  peered  anxiously  across  the  deck.  There  came  a 
lull  in  the  noise,  and  the  smoke  cleared  a  little  from 
the  other  side.  The  gunners  there  were  pausing  and 
looking  out.  Then  Orrin  rose  and  stepped  around 
Smith  Brunt  so  as  to  come  between  him  and  the  stern. 

The  next  moment  there  was  another  roar,  the  whole 
after  bulkhead  seemed  to  come  away,  and  a  mass  of 
splinters  and  tearing  shot  swept  forward  like  a  squall 
through  the  ship,  leaving  a  trail  of  shattered,  bleeding, 
groaning  men,  and  things  that  had  been  men.  From 
the  deck  above  came  shouts  and  shrieks  high  above 
the  musketry. 

"  Raked  ?  "  asked  Smith,  in  an  undertone,  so  as  not 
to  be  heard  by  the  others. 

Orrin  nodded  grimly. 

The  heavy  guns  ceased,  but  through  the  larboard 
ports  Smith  could  see  nothing  of  the  enemy.  As  he 
turned  to  look  on  his  own  side  he  saw  a  sight  that  for  a 
moment  stopped  his  heart. 

Down  the  after  ladder  came  four  seamen  bearing  a 
heavy  body,  brilliant  with  gold  lace,  but  with  the  blue 


134  Smith   Brunt. 

and  white  clothes  now  all  splotched  with  red.  The  stal 
wart  limbs  hung  limp,  the  handsome  face  was  pallid,  but 
the  curly  head  kept  craning  up,  and  the  eyes  were  still 
open  and  fiery.  Before  Smith  could  move  there  poured 
down  the  main  hatchway  a  cataract  of  men,  wild  and 
demoralized,  and  crying  out,  some  in  broken  English, 
that  the  ship  was  boarded. 

"  So  much  for  not  giving  men  prize  money,"  yelled 
the  Portuguese  mutineer,  and  pulled  up  a  hatch  grat 
ing.  "  Follow  me  all  who  want  to  live."  The  next 
second  he  went  headlong  through  the  hatchway  and 
all  in  a  heap  to  the  deck  below,  propelled  by  Orrin's 
foot. 

"Yes,  follow  him  all  skulking  curs,"  roared  Paul 
Jones's  man,  grasping  his  axe,  "and  I'll  help  you  along 
with  this  instead  of  my  boot.  Better  call  the  boarders, 
Mr.  Brunt,  there's  likely  nobody  on  deck  to  do  it/' 

"  Boarders  away,"  shouted  Smith.  "  Away  you 
Chesapeakes,  you  Hornets,  you  Constitutions^,  after 
me,  Yankees  all  !  "  With  drawn  sword  and  pistol,  and 
mad  with  rage  and  grief  he  dashed  up  the  ladder  strik 
ing  out  of  his  way  right  and  left  the  panic  stricken 
men  who  were  coming  down. 

"Mind  your  head,  sir,"  cried  Orrin  at  his  shoulder, 
holding  the  axe  over  him.  "  Always  guard  your  head 
in  going  up  a  ladder." 

On  the  spar  deck  he  saw  a  man  fumbling  at  the  pin 
rail.  The  flag  halliards  from  the  main  truck  were 
there  belayed,  and  at  once  Smith  knew  what  the  man 
was  doing.  Never  in  his  life  had  he  aimed  a  fire-arm 
at  a  human  being  even  in  play  and  had  a  sportsman's 
horror  of  such  a  thing.  Yet  now  without  the  slightest 
compunction  he  poured  the  contents  of  his  pistol  into 
this  man — one  of  the  Chesapeake  s  own  crew. 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  135 

"  Guard  that  flag,  Ben,"  he  shouted  to  Orrin.  "  The 
rest  of  you  follow  me,"  and  he  made  for  the  poop.  As 
he  ran  up  the  ladder  he  saw  fierce  faces  at  the  top  ;  he 
struck  at  them  savagely  ;  something  bright  flashed  be 
fore  his  eyes  ;  a  sickening  jar  jammed  his  teeth  to 
gether  ;  the  whole  ship  turned  upside  down,  plainly 
beneath  his  feet  he  saw  the  flag  at  the  truck,  and  the 
sight  of  it  seemed  to  burn  in  his  brain — then  all  was 
black. 


His  ears  were  humming  and  something  was  hammer 
ing,  hammering  in  his  head  ;  but  through  this  sound 
he  heard  far  off  the  notes  of  a  bugle.  Faintly  he 
opened  his  eyes.  There  lay  Teddy  in  front  of  him, 
his  yellow  hair  all  matted  with  blood,  and  his  little 
hands  clasped  as  though  in  prayer.  The  horror  of  the 
sight  roused  him.  No  it  was  not  Teddy,  it  was  another 
little  boy.  Everything  came  back  with  a  rush.  He 
was  on  the  spar  deck  of  the  Cheasapeake.  They  had 
been  boarded.  The  flag  !  The  peak  was  hidden  by 
the  poop.  He  looked  aloft ;  at  the  main  truck  was  a 
red  cross  going  round  and  round,  Orrin  must  be 
dead.  He  would  go  and  see.  That  English  flag  must 
come  down.  He  must  rally  the  men.  Weakly  he 
staggered  to  his  feet  and  clutched  at  the  bulwarks. 
The  hammering  in  his  head  was  awful,  and  he  was 
sick.  Slowly  he  groped  forward  towards  the  place 
where  he  had  left  Orrin.  In  a  dark  heap  on  the  fore 
castle  he  saw  the  green  uniforms  of  the  marines. 
Down  the  bulkhead  like  a  fringe  of  cords  from  that 
heap  were  trickling  little  dark  streams.  Near  the 
side  he  slipped  and  fell.  Phaugh  !  his  hands  were  wet. 
In  front  of  the  pin-rail  lay  a  ring  of  bodies  and  over 


136  Smith   Brunt. 

them  he  had  to  crawl.  Holding  to  a  belaying  pin  he 
looked  down  at  the  dead  men  around  his  feet. 

There  at  full  length  on  his  face,  his  right  hand  still 
gripping  the  axe,  though  the  arm  was  nigh  shorn  off  at 
the  shoulder,  his  left  hand  on  the  throat  of  a  dead  man 
beneath  him,  lay  Orrin  Benjamin,  like  a  tall  pine  of  his 
own  Northern  woods  fallen  across  a  too  unwary  hewer. 
Around  him,  one,  two,  five  bodies,  Smith  counted,  be 
sides  the  man  choked  to  death  in  his  grasp.  He 
looked  as  he  did  on  the  day  he  came  on  the  beach  at 
Bayhampton.  His  pigtail  lay  along  his  bare  brown 
back,  the  little  gold  chain  was  around  his  neck,  but  the 
scar  of  1779  was  almost  obliterated.  Some  Briton  had 
finished  the  work  begun  by  a  fellow  countryman  thirty- 
four  years  before. 

Smith  knelt  down,  and  with  a  great  effort  rolled  the 
old  viking  over  and  took  the  gray  head  in  his  lap,  to 
see  if  by  any  chance  there  was  yet  life.  None.  The 
breast  was  gashed  too  deep  for  that  and  the  heart  was 
still.  Then  again  far  off,  through  the  humming  in  his 
ears,  he  heard  the  bugle.  It  was  playing  "  God  save 
the  King."  With  a  mad  cry  he  staggered  to  his  feet 
and  seized  the  sword  that  hung  at  his  wrist.  He  would 
have  the  blood  of  that  bugler  and  then  die  with  the 
rest.  He  saw  a  strange  officer  coming,  and  made  at 
him.  The  hammering  in  his  head  redoubled,  some 
thing  snapped  under  it,  and  again  all  was  black. 

But  again  the  blackness  vanished.  He  saw  Ben  Orrin 
lying  before  him  on  the  sand,  and  there  was  the  sea 
and  the  Iroquois.  Down  her  sides  were  running  little 
dark  streams  ;  he  could  hear  the  wind  howl  through 
her  rigging,  and  it  played  "  God  save  the  King,"  and  at 
that  he  sat  up  and  shrieked  but  he  could  not  move. 
Then  he  saw  it  was  not  the  Iroquois  after  all,  but  a 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  137 

schooner,  and  from  her  deck  Grace  Temble  waved  to 
him  while  Herbert  de  Voe  leered  at  him  and  played  on 
a  bugle.  He  played  "  God  save  the  King,"  and  Smith 
rolled  about  in  agony  but  could  not  move.  Over  all 
the  schooner's  sails  were  little  dark  streaks.  But  she 
sailed  off  and  Smith  went  home,  home  over  the  dear 
old  bay,  and  at  the  gate  was  his  father  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lawrence  ;  and  Mr.  Lawrence  said,  "  Where  is 
Teddy?"  Smith  answered,  "  I  killed  him,"  and  began 
to  laugh,  and  said,  "  Look,  there  he  is."  There  on  the 
piazza  lay  Teddy,  all  red  with  blood.  Smith  knew  he 
had  shot  him  with  his  own  hand,  and  suddenly  think 
ing  what  a  horrible  thing  that  was,  stopped  laughing 
and  began  to  groan.  All  down  the  front  door  ran 
little  dark  streams.  Then  a  bird  flew  by  whistling 
"  God  save  the  King,"  and  Smith  leaped  up  and  flew 
after  it  across  the  bay  over  to  the  beach.  There  he 
saw  de  Voe  and  Grace  Temble  again  and  flew  after 
them  along  the  sand  mile  after  mile,  mile  after  mile, 
until  his  wings  became  wet  and  heavy  with  blood,  and 
he  fell  down  exhausted  and  slept. 

*  *  #  #  #  #  ' 

He  awoke  in  bed,  and  saw  Carman  Hawkins  sitting 
by  him. 

"  Is  that  you,  Carm  ?  "  he  asked  faintly.     "  Are  you 
all  right  ? " 

"Yes,  yes.     Shut  up  !" 

"They  took  us?" 

"  Come  pretty  near  it,  I  guess." 

"  Ben  Orrin  is  dead,  isn't  he  ? " 

"  Yes." 

"  How  is  Captain  Lawrence  ?" 

"  Dead." 

"  Ludlow  ? " 


138  Smith  Brunt. 

"  Dead,  all  dead.  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno  exactly  why  you 
and  me  is  alive.  Shut  up  now,  and  go  to  sleep  agin." 

With  a  groan  Smith  closed  his  eyes  and  wished  that 
he  might  never  open  them  again. 

He  did,  however,  several  hours  later,  after  an  un 
troubled  sleep.  He  was  in  a  small  hospital  room,  with 
his  head  wrapped  in  wet  cloths.  Carman  was  leaning 
on  a  crutch  beside  the  bed  watching  him  with  great 
satisfaction. 

"Guess  you're  all  right  now,"  he  remarked  cheer 
fully.  "  '  Y  Guy,  though,  I  dunno  why  you  be  all  right, 
'stead  o'  dead.  You've  got  a  crack  in  your  head  big 
enough  to  fall  into  yourself  if  it  ain't  fenced.  One 
spell  there,  I  didn't  think  you  would  pull  through. 
Doctor  didn't  neither.  You  was  ravin'  crazy  for  a 
week." 

"  Dare  say,"  replied  Smith,  "  I  felt  so.  Now  tell  me 
all  about  it,  Carm." 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  a  little  'cause  you  won't  quit 
askin'  till  I  do,  and  there  ain't  a  great  deal  to  tell,  any 
how.  Guess  I  see  about  the  whull  of  it,  and  it  didn't 
take  long.  I'll  stick  to  the  truth,  too,  'cause  I  don't 
feel  in  no  mood  for  lyin'  about  this  experience.  We 
come  down  with  a  fair  wind  right  for  her  starboard 
quarter.  When  we  got  pretty  close,  the  sailing  master 
says  to  the  skipper,  '  Shall  I  go  under  her  stern,  sir  ? ' 
but  Cap'n  Jim  he  says,  *  No,'  says  he  '  he's  waitin'  for 
me  like  a  gentleman,  and  I  can't  take  advantage  of  it,' 
he  says.  '  We'll  begin  even,  anyhow,  and  whip  him 
gun  for  gun,  or  board  him.  Lay  her  alongside,'  says  he. 

"  So  we  luffed  up  along  his  starboard  side,  as  you 
know.  The  skipper  was  hit  hard  in  the  leg  first  thing, 
but  he  didn't  mind  that,  not  he.  He  stayed  right 
where  he  was.  When  we  got  raked, — I  suppose  you 


A   Rare  Day  in  June.  139 

know  we  got  raked,  everybody  come  pretty  near  findin' 
that  out, — it  happened  'cause  somethin'  was  shot  away 
for'ard,  and  our  brails  was  gone,  too,  so  that  the 
spanker  got  loose,  and  the  master  and  the  boatswain 
was  both  killed,  and  the  men  at  the  wheel  was  all  killed 
at  the  same  time,  all  o'  which  o'  course  sent  her  up  into 
the  wind.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  that  we'd  have  wore 
acrost  his  forefoot  and  raked  /«>«,  'cause  we'd  forged 
ahead  considerable.  Well,  as  I  was  sayin',  when  we 
got  raked,  that  was  when  poor  Cap'n  Lawrence  was 
done  for.  And  how  could  they  miss  him  ?  There  he 
stood  towerin'  up  on  the  quarter  deck,  more'n  six  foot  of 
him,  with  great  gold  swabs  on  his  shoulders  a  yard 
apart  across  a  white  waistcoat.  Finest  officer  ever  I 
see,  or  ever  will  see."  Carm  paused  with  a  gulp. 

"  He  wanted  to  stay  even  then,  but  they  took  him 
below.  After  that  rakin',  things  was  lookin'  pretty  bad. 
All  the  dirty  Dagoes  was  beginnin'  to  run  round  cryin", 
and  there  wasn't  an  officer  left  alive  on  deck  to  stop 
'em.  That's  a  fact,  b'Guy,  not  a  single,  officer,  every 
one  of 'em  killed  or  wounded  bad.  Cap'n  Lawrence  he 
looks  round  kind  o'  desperate-like,  as  they  picked  him 
up,  and  he  says,  says  he,  <  Don't  give  up  the  ship.' 
Silas  Tuthill  says,  *  Who  the  rim's  a-goin'  to,  I'd  like 
to  know.'  You  see,  Si  was  gittin'  a  mad  on,  and  he 
didn't  think  the  cap  would  hear  him.  He  did,  though, 
but  he  only  jest  smiled  for  all  he  was  so  hard  hit,  and 
he  says,  *  That's  right,  lad,'  says  he,  *  Give  it  to  'em. 
Fight  her  till  she  strikes  or  sinks,'  he  says. 

"  After  he'd  gone  the  Britisher  fouled  our  larboard 
quarter.  By  that  time  I  was  the  nearest  thing  to  an 
officer  left  on  the  quarter-deck  'ceptin'  the  parson. 
You  see  I  was  captain  of  a  gun,  and  the  gun  was  about 
all  I  was  captain  of,  too,  seein'  as  my  brave  lads  was 


140  Smith   Brunt. 

all  shinnin'  up  the  mizzen  riggin'.  Si  Tuthill — you 
remember  him,  he  used  to  live  to  Moriches,  and  he  had 
come  from  the  Constitution, — Si  had  the  next  gun  to 
me  and  he  was  in  the  same  fix,  so  he  come  and  helped 
me.  We  made  out  between  us  to  get  the  old  carron- 
ade  loaded,  and  we  was  a-slewin'  her  round  so  as  to 
bear  on  the  Englishman,  when  along  come  a  round 
shot  and  tipped  the  whole  shebang,  carriage  and  all, 
over  on  to  my  leg.  There  I  lay,  jest  for  ornament,  and 
I  come  pretty  near  losin'  my  temper.  Then  Si  ketched 
sight  of  a  Britisher  tryin'  to  lash  the  two  ships  together. 
'None  o'  that,  Johnny  Bull,'  says  he.  'No  trespassin' 
on  these  here  premises  under  penalty  o'  gittin'  hurt,' 
and  he  whacked  the  man's  arm  in  two.  That  was  the 
last  thing  poor  Silas  ever  done,  and  the  Britishers 
begun  to  come  aboard  over  his  body.  First  of  all 
come  a  six  footer  in  gold  lace,  and  I  found  out  after 
wards  he  was  their  captain,  and  his  name  was  Broke. 
He  was  a  good  deal  the  same  build  and  look  of  Captain 
Lawrence,  and  it  made  me  most  cry.  All  I  could  do 
was  to  lie  there  and  holler  at  him.  *  Oh,  you  big 
rooster,'  says  I,  '  if  Cap'n  Jim  was  only  here  you  wouldn't 
go  waltzin'  acrost  his  quarter-deck  like  that.'  If  I 
could  have  got  to  a  pistol,  I'd  have  fetched  him  to 
pretty  sudden  ;  but  I  couldn't  stir,  and  I'd  moved  the 
load  out  of  my  own  pistol  into  the  stern  of  one  of  my 
gallant  gun's  crew. 

"  But  there  was  one  man  on  that  poop,  with  spunk  left, 
now,  I  tell  you,  and  that  was  the  parson.  Derned  if 
he  didn't  pick  up  a  pistol  and  go  right  at  the  big  Eng 
lishman  and  let  drive.  He  missed,  though,  and  then  the 
Englishman  shore  his  arm  right  clean  off  with  one  cut. 
Poor  Mr.  Livermore  !  It  was  an  awful  sight,  and  him 
a  sky-pilot,  too.  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno  though,  you  couldn't 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  141 

blame  the  Britisher  much,  'cause  he  most  likely  thought 
the  parson  was  a  combatant.  It's  kind  of  annoyin'  to 
have  a  man  shootin'  a  pistol  at  you.  After  that  the 
English  captain  charged  forward  with  his  crowd  along 
the  spar-deck,  and  a  lot  more  boarders  come  over  on 
to  the  poop. 

"  It  was  just  then  that  you  come  up  the  main  hatch 
way.  When  I  seed  you  a-comin'  aft  for  the  ladder,  I 
was  scared  to  death  'cause  I  knowed  just  what  was 
goin'  to  happen.  And  it  did.  You  got  hit  on  the  head 
so  soon  as  ever  your  hat  come  above  the  quarter  deck. 
I  thought  you  was  done  for.  There  was  about  a  dozen 
come  up  with  you,  and  they  fought  like  good  ones, 
now,  I  tell  you.  Most  every  one  of  'em  got  his  man. 
But  'tain't  no  use  o'  talkin',  twelve  men  can't  stand  off 
fifty,  and  they  was  all  killed,  every  mother's  son  of  'em, 
and  I  begun  to  wish  I  was,  too. 

"  Then  I  saw  old  Uncle  Ben  standin'  by  the  pin-rail  of 
the  main  where  you  nailed  that  cur  that  was  tryin'  to 
strike,  and  a  good  thing  you  did.  The  boarders  seen 
Uncle  Ben,  too,  after  they'd  finished  with  your  poor 
boys,  and  they  made  a  rush  for  him.  I  saw  the  old 
man  kind  o'  raise  up  on  his  toes  and  heave  up  his  axe, 
and  take  the  first  two  right  and  left  like  you'd  knock  a 
pair  of  quail  out  of  a  bevy.  Then  they  was  all  round 
him  like  flies,  in  a  whirlin'  crowd.  I  knowed  he  wasn't 
down,  so  long  as  I  could  see  his  gray  head  over  the 
swarm  and  his  axe  a-swingin'  round  it.  I  saw  the 
blade  go  up  and  down  and  every  way,  and  I  watched  it 
close  I  tell  you. 

"All  of  a  sudden  they  broke  away  and  stood  in  a  ring 
out  o'  reach  o'  that  axe.  The  old  man  was  leanin' 
against  the  pin-rail,  and  his  right  arm  hung  down  at 
his  side,  and  he  was  all  slashed  in  front.  But  he 


142  Smith   Brunt. 

straightened  himself  up  a  minute  and  looked  as  tall  as 
the  mainmast, — oh  !  how  he  did  look  !  Then  he  shook 
his  fist  at  'em,  and  begun  to  talk  so  I  could  hear  him 
where  I  lay. 

"  '  Come/  he  says,  *  come,  you  swabs.  Forty  years  ago 
I  fought  and  slew  your  fathers,  and  you  haven't  got  the 
pluck  to  finish  me  now.  I  burned  Whitehaven,'  he  says, 
tryin'  to  get  'em  mad.  '  I  sailed  with  Commodore  John 
Paul  Jones,  and  lashed  you  in  your  own  channel.  I 
helped  to  take  the  Drake  and  the  Serapis  and  the  Gureer 
and  the  Java*  I  belong  to  the  Constitution]  he  says. 
'Fifteen  stars  and  fifteen  stripes  there  are  in  that  flag, 
and  fifteen  Englishmen  I'll  have  before  you  take  it,' 
says  he.  '  Five  of  you  I've  gotten  here.  Look,'  he  says 
countin',  '  one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  and  in  the  old  war 
nine  to  my  knowledge.  That  makes  fourteen.  Come  ! ' 
says  he,  *  who'll  make  the  fifteenth  ?' 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,  when  I  think  of  it  now,  it  seems 
kind  o'  terrible  that  a  good  Christian  man  like  him 
should  have  talked  and  looked  the  way  he  did,  but  I 
must  ha'  been  mad  clean  through  then,  regular  blood 
mad,  for  I  liked  it  and  hurrayed  when  I  heard  him. 
Well,  they  all  shouted  and  cursed  at  this,  and  I  guess 
they  'd  have  closed  on  him  again,  but  an  officer  stepped 
in  among  'em  and  held  up  his  sword.  '  Don't  nobody 
touch  him,'  he  says,  '  Can't  you  see  the  man's  dyin'  ?' 
And  sure  enough  Uncle  Ben  was  leanin'  against  the  pin 
rail  again  and  his  head  wasgoin'  back.  Just  then  some 
dirty  sneak  who  had  crawled  along  under  the  bul 
warks  jumped  up  and  drove  a  knife  in  him,  and  I  see  it 
was  that  damned  Portygee.  The  old  man  grabbed 
him  by  the  throat  with  his  left  hand  and  tore  him  off, 
the  way  you'd  choke  off  a  dog  that  was  fast  to  you, 
and  then  he  fell  forward  with  the  cuss  under  him. 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  143 

"  After  that  Mr.  Ludlow  come  on  deck  again.  He'd 
been  hit  in  the  very  beginnin'  and  taken  below, 
but  he  come  staggerin'  up  with  his  sword  out  and 
blood  a-runnin'  out  of  his  neck.  They  finished  him  and 
his  few  lads  pretty  quick,  and  that  was  the  last  fightin* 
in  the  waist.  But  the  marines  was  holdin'  the  fore 
castle,  and  by  Guy,  I'll  never  say  a  word  agin  a 
porgy  again,  so  long  as  I  live,  now  I  tell  you.  They 
just  fought  away  quiet  and  steady  with  their  mus 
ket  butts  until  the  last  blessed  one  of  'em  was 
piled  on  top  of  the  heap  they'd  made.  That  was 
about  the  end  of  it,  and  I  jest  put  my  face 
down  on  the  deck,  and, — well,  I  didn't  feel  very  good. 
Thank  God  !  I  didn't  see  'em  pull  down  the  Gridiron  ; 
that  was  about  the  only  bad  thing  I  didn't  see.  And  they 
say  it  wasn't  more'n  fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  broad 
side."  Carm  paused.  "  Licked  in  fifteen  minutes  ! 
Gosh  !  "  another  pause. 

"  It  was  all  done  when  I  looked  up  again  ;  but  then  I 
see  the  first  thing  that  did  my  eyes  any  good  that  day. 
I  see  you  crawlin'  along  the  deck  to  where  Uncle  Ben 
was  iayin'.  And  then  you  got  up  and  grabbed  your 
sword,  and  I  expected  to  see  you  try  to  hit  somebody 
and  get  put  to  sleep  again  for  good,  for  I  could  see 
you  was  leery.  But,  thank  goodness,  you  just  fell 
down,  and  an  officer  come  along  and  looked  at  you 
and  felt  your  heart.  It  was  the  same  young  feller  that 
held  ;em  off  Uncle  Ben  when  he  was  dyin'.  He  give 
some  orders  about  you,  and  then  he  come  aft.  I 
couldn't  see  what  he  was  doin'  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder,  'cause  he  was  hid  by  the  break  of  the  poop, 
but  pretty  soon  I  saw  him  go  over  to  the  hatch  with  a 
little  bit  of  a  middy  in  his  arms  and  lay  the  little  chap 
on  the  hatch  and  cover  his  face  with  a  handkerchief." 


144  Smith  Brunt. 

"  Carm,"  broke  in  Smith  at  this  point,  trying  to 
raise  his  head,  "  Did  you  see  that  boy  killed  ?  Tell 
me  the  truth,  Carm,  for  God's  sake,  did  I  kill  him  ?" 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  said  Carm.  "  I  guess  you  was 
capsized  too  soon  to  kill  anybody.  I  noticed  that 
little  lad  goin'  over  the  poop  with  the  boarders  right 
after  you  was  knocked  down,  and  that  was  the  last  I 
see  of  him,  but  you  must  have  been  out  of  it  then.  I 
suppose  you  ain't  hankerin'  after  that  particular  piece 
of  glory,  be  you  ?  Well,  anyhow,  the  nice  lieutenant, — 
I  knowed  he  was  a  nice  feller  after  all  I'd  seen  him  do — 
he  come  up  on  the  quarter  deck,  not  lookin'  much  as  if 
he'd  helped  win  a  big  victory.  He  see  Mr.  Livermore 
didn't  need  nobody's  help,  and  he  told  the  men  to  lay 
him  with  the  officers  in  the  long  row  they  was  makin' 
in  the  waist.  Then  he  come  to  me." 

"  By  that  time  the  pain  in  my  leg  was  pretty  bad,  and 
I  didn't  think  nothin'  about  home,  nor  Aunt  Hepsy 
nor  nothin',  and  when  he  come  up  I  says,  '  Mr. 
Britisher,'  says  I,  '  will  you  kindly  lend  me  your  pistol 
a  few  minutes,  sir  ? ' 

"  '  What  for  ? '  says  he.     '  To  pot  me  with  ? ' 

" '  No,'  says  I,  '  but  I'd  like  to  have  a  few  cracks  at 
them  chickens  roostin'  up  aloft  there  and  then  I'll  fix 
myself  up  so  as  you  can  put  me  with  all  the  good  men 
in  this  ship,'  I  says. 

" '  There's  been  shootin'  enough  for  one  day,'  says 
he.  Then  he  had  'em  raise  the  carronade  off  o'  my 
leg.  I'd  seen  him  look  at  you  so  I  asked  him  whether 
you  was  dead  or  alive,  and  he  said  he  wasn't  sure. 
Then  I  asked  him  if  he'd  be  kind  enough  to  let  me 
know  how  things  went  with  you,  'cause  you  and  I  had 
been  boys  together,  and  that  seemed  to  sort  of  interest 
him  and  he  promised  he  would. 


A  Rare  Day  in  June.  145 

"  And  sure  enough  he  did,  and  what's  more,  when  we 
was  all  took  ashore  here  at  Halifax,  (you're  in  Halifax 
now),  he  fixed  it  so  as  I  could  be  with  you,  as  soon  as 
I  was  able  to  get  around  on  a  crutch.  The  Sawbones 
was  goin'  to  take  my  leg  off  at  first,  but  I  said  '  No, 
sir.1  I  wanted  that  to  climb  aboard  an  English  frigate 
with  before  long.  Now  I  guess  I'd  better  quit  talkin'. 
The  doctor  said  not  to  let  you  git  excited." 

Smith's  eyes  were  closed  and  his  face  was  very 
haggard.  An  alarming  doubt  entered  Mr.  Hawkins' 
mind  as  to  whether  he  had  properly  obeyed  the  doctor. 
Smith  was  not  excited,  however  ;  neither  was  his  heart 
breaking,  though  he  rather  expected  it  to  do  so.  It 
was  not  that  kind  of  a  heart.  Already  the  thought 
uppermost  in  his  mind  was  of  how  soon  he  could 
escape,  or  be  exchanged,  and  get  at  them  again. 
Taken  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  !  Taken  with  the  cut 
lass  !  And  he  left  alive,  the  only  officer  to  tell  of  it  ! 
Could  he  show  his  face  at  home  again  until  he  had 
wiped  out  that  record  ?  And  when  would  come  the 
chance  to  do  that  ?  Poor  boy,  he  could  not  know  then 
in  lus  bitter  shame  and  agony  that  thenceforth  many  a 
warship  of  his  country  would  wear  above  her  wheel  the 
words  of  his  dear  dead  chief.  The  memory  of  Lawrence 
has  cast  a  glamour  over  the  worst  thrashing  we  ever 
got  at  sea.  We  are  a  strange  people  about  that  sort 
of  thing.  Our  most  vaunted  land  battle  was  also  a 
defeat,  though  probably  nine-tenths  of  us  consider 
Bunker  Hill  a  victory.  Is  this  because  our  conceit  is 
so  sublime  as  to  blunt  our  memory  ;  or  is  it  that  we 
have  inherited  from  our  common  ancestors  the  quality 
ascribed  to  our  English  cousins  in  the  threadbare 
epigram  "  they  do  not  know  when  they  are  whipped  "  ? 
I,  for  one,  prefer  to  think  that  it  is  for  neither  of  these 


146  Smith   Brunt. 

reasons,  but  for  a  much  better  one,  to  wit,  that  down 
under  all  our  materialism,  beneath  all  our  vainglory 
and  worship  of  success,  lies  a  truer  chord  that  is 
stirred  by  brave  and  honourable  deeds  no  matter  what 
their  result. — Hard  a-lee  !  This  tack  is  taking  us 
away  from  our  story  and  into  a  sermon.  Nor  can  such 
reflections  be  palmed  upon  the  reader  by  ascribing 
them  to  the  hero,  for  Smith  never  thought  a  word 
about  all  that.  He  only  realized  the  disaster  and 
longed  to  revenge  it. 

If  Carman  Hawkins  was  an  injudicious  nurse,  he  was  at 
least  a  devoted  one.  Not  a  minute  that  he  was  allowed 
to  spend  by  Smith's  bed  did  he  pass  elsewhere.  And  as 
his  patient  grew  stronger,  Carm  told  him  all  the  sad 
sequel  of  the  battle.  How  the  dead  had  been  buried 
that  n-ight  at  sea  ;  how  Captain  Lawrence  had  lingered 
four  days,  to  the  end  patient,  courteous  to  his  captors, 
superb  as  ever,  without  one  complaint  in  his  mortal 
grief  and  pain,  going  to  his  God  like  a  gentleman  ; 
how  every  English  officer  in  Halifax  had  gone  bare 
headed  to  the  funeral,  the  six  highest  acting  as  pall 
bearers.  Mr.  Ludlow  also  had  been  buried  in  Halifax, 
having  died  there. 

Then  Carm  talked  about  the  young  lieutenant  of  the 
Shannon  who  had  befriended  him,  of  how  kind  he  had 
been  and  how  anxious  he  had  appeared  about  Smith. 
"  He  had  to  sail  again  before  you  got  well,"  Carm  ex 
plained,  "and  he  left  this  locket  for  you.  It's  Uncle 
Ben's,  don't  you  remember  it  ?  He  took  it  off  the  old 
man's  neck,  after  he'd  watched  you  a-feelin'  of  him. 
He  thought  maybe  you'd  like  to  have  the  locket  if  you 
got  well,  and  if  you  didn't  I  was  to  see  that  it  got  to  the 
old  man's  folks.  I  guess  you'd  better  keep  it  anyhow. 
Here  it  is,"  and  Carman  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  the 


A  Rare   Day  in  June.  147 

chain  and  locket  that  Ben  Orrin  had  always  worn 
around  his  neck.  "  I  kind  o'  think,"  he  added  with  a 
dubious  expression,  "  that  Squire  Hen  will  take  more 
interest  in  it  than  my  Aunt  Hepsy." 

"  Have  you  looked  inside  of  it  ? ''  asked  Smith,  as  he 
took  the  trinket  reverently. 

"Well,  yes,"  said  Carm  a  little  alarmed  at  Smith's 
tone.  "Was  there  any  harm  in  that?  Guess  you'd 
better  look  at  it  too  'fore  you  give  it  to  Aunt 
Hepsy." 

"  All  right  then,  I  will,"  said  Smith  rather  glad  to 
have  his  scruples  moved  out  of  the  way  of  his  curios 
ity  by  this  mysterious  warning  ;  and  he  opened  the 
locket. 

The  contents  astonished,  and  indeed  almost  startled 
him.  Not  that  the  picture  within  did  not  resemble 
Mrs.  Orrin.  Carman's  words  had  prepared  him  for 
that.  He  had  no  suspicion  of  the  God  fearing  old  tar's 
fidelity,  but  had  expected  to  find,  perhaps  a  lock  of  hair 
other  than  gray  in  color,  or  some  other  cherished  bit 
of  early  sentiment.  Instead  of  anything  so  simple, 
there  was  a  miniature  beautifully  done  and  set  round 
with  small  diamonds.  Of  course,  any  sailor,  except  for 
the  taste  displayed,  might  have  spent  all  his  money  on 
such  a  trinket  ;  but  the  remarkable  thing  was  the  sub 
ject  of  the  portrait, — a  lady  in  every  line  of  her  feat 
ures  and  pose,  and  one  of  the  most  lovely  faces  upon 
which  Smith  had  ever  looked.  A  long  time  he  gazed 
at  it  in  wonder  and  admiration,  until  at  last  he  began 
to  see  something  familiar  in  the  likeness.  Then  an 
idea  occurred  to  him.  "  Carm,"  he  said,  "  I  think  we 
shall  find  that  this  should  belong  now  to  Teddy.  Mr. 
Lawrence  may  know." 

"  Well,  maybe  he  will.     But  I  kind  o'  think  we  know 


148  Smith  Brunt. 

only  one  man  who  could  have  told  all  about  it ;  and 
he  is  in  twenty  fathom  with  a  round  shot  fast  to  his  feet. 
Leastways  his  body  is,  for  the  rest  of  him  has  gone 
aloft,  if  ever  a  good  old  sailor  man  did." 


CHAPTER  X. 

NEWS  FROM  THE  SOUTH  SEAS. 

'"THANKS  to  some  Dutch  forefather,  possibly  the 
*  stout  Dirk,  an  hereditary  skull  had  saved  Smith's 
life ;  but  a  long  time  passed  before  he  got  back  his 
legs  and  very  poor  legs  they  were  then.  His  exchange 
did  him  more  good  than  anything  else.  Carman 
Hawkins  was  exchanged  at  the  same  time.  Before  the 
cartel  sailed,  there  came  to  Halifax  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  the  brig  Henry,  manned  by  Mr.  Crowninshield  of 
of  Salem  and  ten  other  masters  of  vessels.  Among 
them  Smith  saw  a  gray  head  and  a  brown  face  at 
which  he  looked  with  watery  eyes,  being  still  weak 
and  somewhat  unsteady  in  the  nerves.  Probably  Cap 
tain  Brunt's  nerves  also  were  a  little  out  of  order,  for 
he  had  come  to  Halifax  to  learn  whether  his  son  were 
dead  or  alive. 

Then  from  the  graves  where  the  victors  had  mourn 
fully  laid  them,  Lawrence  and  Ludlow  were  lifted  and 
taken  once  more  aboard  ship  where  over  them  floated 
the  flag  they  had  loved  to  their  death.  And  Smith  and 
Carman  and  a  few  other  faithful  ones  who  had  been 
kept  in  Halifax  by  the  wounds  got  in  that  death  strug 
gle,  sailed  with  their  captain  to  Salem,  and  from  there 
to  New  York,  and  then  limped  after  him  to  Trinity 
churchyard.  There  still  he  sleeps,  that  sailor  knight, 
who  died  for  his  high  chivalry  ;  there  lies  that  heart 
of  honour's  heart — at  the  head  of  Wall  Street. 

For  one  moment  during  that  last  burial,  Smith 

149 


150  Smith   Brunt. 

envied  his  friend  young  Ludlow  for  being  laid  in  the 
tomb  with  his  commander.  Only  for  a  moment,  however, 
for  then  he  looked  at  his  father  and  at  the  Stars  half- 
masted  nearby,  and  thought  how  weak  and  selfish  was 
that  wish  to  have  ended  his  duty  with  his  hero. 

Immediately  after  the  funeral,  they  all  returned  to 
Bayhampton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence,  Captain  Brunt, 
Smith,  and  Carman.  Upon  their  arrival  they  saw  on 
the  store  porch  a  familiar  figure,  more  gaunt  than  ever. 

"  She's  be'n  here  every  day  I  come,  ever  since  the 
first  news,"  remarked  the  stage  driver.  "  She's  heard 
that  some  of  the  Constitutions  was  in  it  too.  There's 
lots  more  further  East.  One  of  'em  besides  her  will 
drop  out  this  hitch  'cordin'  to  what  Carm  tells  me. 
Most  of  'em  is  inquirin'  for  other  ships." 

Smith  leaped  from  the  stage  and  took  Aunt  Hepsy 
in  his  arms.  The  sharp  features  were  bowed  a  mo 
ment  on  his  shoulder.  Then  she  straightened  up, 
and  said, 

"  He  is  with  the  elect.  Come  home,  Carm."  And 
Carman  Hawkins  walked  home  with  his  aunt,  silent 
for  once. 

On  that  day,  however,  one  sunbeam  broke  through 
the  cloud.  It  came  through  the  post  office,  and  as 
Squire  Lawrence  emerged  therefrom,  the  ray  seemed 
to  have  focussed  on  his  visage. 

"  Look,  look  !  "  he  cried,  waving  two  pieces  of  pa 
per  in  his  hand.  "  A  letter  from  Teddy  !  No  you 
can't  see  it  till  we  get  home.  We'll  read  it  together 
at  my  house." 

So  at  the  Squire's  house  the  following  documents 
were  read  aloud.  The  first  one  was  marked  "  Brot  by 
Brig  Mary  from  U.  S.  S.  Essex  in  22°3o/S.  116°  W." 
It  was  addressed  to  "  Mr.  Henry  Lawrence,  A  Squier, 


News  from  the  South  Seas.  151 

Bayhampton,  Suffolk  County,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  U.  S. 
A."  The  handwriting  was  Teddy's  own  and  could 
hardly  be  described  as  flowing,  since  it  showed  evi 
dence  of  hard  labor  in  every  letter  ;  but  the  word 
oversowing  might  have  been  applied  to  it  at  frequent 
intervals.  Various  shades  of  ink  showed  that  the  work 
had  progressed  slowly  from  time  to  time.  Here  it  is, 
spelling  and  all. 

DEAR  PAPA  : 

I  hope  you  are  well.  I  am  well.  But 
I  wasnt  when  we  first  started.  I  was  orful  sick  the 
first  two  days  out.  Mr.  McKnight  he  said  I  was  a  pay- 
triut  sufferin  for  my  country.  I  love  my  country  but  I 
dont  want  to  suffer  that  way  agen.  It  wasnt  a  bit  the 
way  paytriuts  suffer  in  books  becoz  there  wasnt  any 
blood  nor  glory  nor  nothing.  Only  just  sufferin  in  my 
stummick.  There  is  another  man  about  my  age  on  board 
only  he  is  a  little  older  than  me  becoz  he  is  leven-and- 
a-half  and  I  wont  be  leven  until  my  next  birthday. 
(Teddys  birthday  had  been  fixed  as  the  date  on 
which  he  came  on  the  beach.)  His  name  is  Davy. 
He  has  been  in  the  service  neerly  two  years  so  he  is  a 
shelback.  He  and  me  stick  together  tho  sometimes 
we  fight  and  we  have  pretty  good  fun  somtimes. 
Davy  found  the  key  of  the  jam-locker  one  day  and  we 
got  into  it  but  we  got  orful  sick  and  couldnt  go  on 
watch  so  the  stewerd  found  it  out  and  reported  us 
and  Captain  Porter  he  didnt  say  we  was  sufferin  pay 
triuts  he  blew  us  up.  I  like  the  ship  very  much  and  I 
arn  studying  hard.  I  dont  like  getting  up  at  night  to 
go  on  watch  but  it  is  not  so  bad  after  you  are  up. 
The  bosun  he  tells  good  stories.  He  does  not  know 
Ben  Orrin  and  he  thinks  that  is  a  queer  name  becoz 
lots  of  people  in  Maine  he  says  are  called  Orrin  for  a 
first  name.  Nobody  knows  Ben  which  I  think  is  queer 
becoz  they  ought  to  know  him  but  I  spose  it  is  so  long 
since  he  went  to  sea  neerly  seven  years.  The  gunner 
says  he  knew  a  man  named  Oren  Benjamin  who  got 
killed  at  Tripoly  isnt  that  queer.  They  all  like  Smith 


152  Smith   Brunt. 

eversomuch  and  so  do  all  the  officers  and  they  are  all 
sorry  he  couldent  come. 

Good-by  now.     I  will  write  some  more  by  and  by. 

p.  s.  Give  my  love  to  mamma  and  Hannah  and 
Delia  and  Captain  Brunt  and  everybody. 

p.  s.  I  left  some  shedder  crabs  and  two  water  tur- 
kles  in  the  tank  in  the  attick.  If  you  dont  want  them 
you  might  give  them  to  Willie  Raynor  but  maybe  they 
are  ded  now. 

DEAR  FATHER: 

It  is  Christmas  day  and  we  have  just  sited  the 
coast  of  the  Brazils.  We  have  not  found  the  Constitu 
tion  and  the  Hornet  yet.  We  missed  them  at  Porto 
Praya  and  Fernando.  We  crossed  the  line  two  weeks 
ago  so  now  we  are  real  old  salts.  Neptune  came 
aboard  and  shaved  some  of  the  men  and  it  was  grate 
fun.  We  took  a  brig  off  Fernando  with  a  lot  of  money 
abord  of  her  but  she  was  too  little  to  fight  us  so  she 
dont  count  except  for  prize  money.  I  hope  we  shall 
find  the  flagship  soon.  I  would  like  to  see  Ben.  Give 
my  love  to  mamma  and  everyone  at  home.  Mr.  Adams 
the  Chaplin  says  my  speling  is  much  beter. 

ST.  CATHERINE,  January,  24th,  1813. 

We  are  going  round  the  Horn.  That  will  be 
bully.  We  cannot  find  the  flagship  or  the  Hornet  and 
hear  that  they  have  left  the  cost.  We  touched  here, 
and  I  came  ashore  for  the  first  time  in  three  months. 
Everything  rocked  around  me. 

VALPARAISO,  Mar.  i5th,  1813. 

DEAR  GOVERNOR  : 

We  have  come  here  round  the  Horn.  It  was 
terribully  rough  coming  round,  and  the  ship  nearly 
foundered.  We  stopped  at  an  island  called  Mocha, 
and  got  liberty  for  which  we  were  all  very  glad.  The 
officers  shot  hogs  and  wild  horses  for  fresh  meat. 


News  from  the  South  Seas.  153 

Davy  and  I  caught  a  little  young  pig.  We  took  him 
aboard  for  a  pet  and  call  him  Murphy.  We  came  here 
to-day,  but  there  are  no  homeward  bound  ships  here 
and  I  can't  send  this  letter  home  yet.  The  old  man 
would  not  let  us  send  any  mail  from  St.  Catherine's, 
for  fear  the  enemy  might  find  out  where  we  were  going. 
We  are  not  going  to  stop  here  long.  I  guess  we  are 
going  to  the  islands  where  there  are  cannybuls  and 
corril  and  things  like  that.  Won't  it  be  fine  ?  I  will 
keep  on  with  this  letter,  becaus  they  say  we  may  fall 
in  with  a  homeward  bound  ship  any  day.  Please  don't 
mind  mistakes,  becaus  I  havent  got  time  to  correct  it 
all  over  from  the  beginning,  and  I  know  there  are 
some  mistakes  in  the  first  part.  I  know  I  spelled  be 
caus  wrong  before  this.  I  have  only  just  learned  it 
now  so  I  wont  forget  it,  but  if  I  go  back  and  change  it, 
it  will  spoil  the  looks  of  the  letter.  Besides,  I  like  you 
to  see  how  I  am  improoving.  Give  my  love  to  mother 
and  every  one. 

APRIL  loth,  1813. 

IN  GRATE  HASTE. 

We  have  just  met  a  Sag  Harbor  whaler  home 
ward  bound.  She  is  going  to  take  our  letters,  so  I 
must  close.  I  guess  everybody  at  home  will  be  glad  to 
hear  where  we  are,  but  they  won't  know  because  we 
keep  jigging  about  from  one  place  to  another,  only 
they  will  know  we  are  in  the  South  Seas.  I  wish  we 
could  hear  from  home.  We  have  taken  a  lot  of  prizes, 
and  I  shall  come  home  a  very  rich  man.  Mr.  Cowell 
says  that  my  share  of  the  prize  money  will  be  as  much 
as  fifty  dollars  and  even  more.  But  I  wish  we  were 
going  to  get  some  fighting.  There  is  nothing  here  but 
stupid  old  merchantmen,  whalers  and  privateers.  Love 
to  mother  and  all  at  home.  Good-bye. 

Your  loving  son, 

Teddy. 

The  foregoing  letter  was  enclosed  in  another,  which 
was  postmarked  Sag  Harbour,  and  ran  as  follows  : 


154  Smith   Brunt 

On  board  H.  M.  S.  Trident, 
Off  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  Sept.  \st.  1813. 
HENRY  LAWRENCE,  ESQ., 
MY  DEAR  SIR  : — 

The  enclosed  letter  with  others,  was  cap 
tured  on  the  Brig  Mary,  by  the  fleet  under  my  com 
mand.  Please  accept  my  apologies  for  opening  it,  as 
duty  compelled  me  to  ascertain  whether  it  contained 
any  information  of  importance.  As  I  do  not  see  that 
the  document  can  give  aid  or  comfort  (of  a  military 
nature)  to  the  enemy,  I  send  it  into  Sag  Harbour  under 
a  flag  of  truce,  and  trust  that  the  local  postmaster  will 
also  deem  it  safe  and  proper  to  forward  the  letter  to 
you  ;  particularly  in  view  of  the  precarious  condition 
of  the  shedder  crabs  and  the  water  turkles.  When  my 
boy  went  to  sea,  he  left  a  basket  of  trout  hanging  in  a 
closet,  which,  when  discovered,  were  indeed  "  ded." 

Sincerely  hoping  that  your  midshipman  will  return 
safe  and  sound,  I  remain,  sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  LANYARD. 

"  That  was  handsome  of  Admiral  Lanyard,"  exclaimed 
the  Squire  as  he  finished  reading.  "  By  Jove,  I'd  like 
to  meet  that  fellow." 

"  Pray  God,  his  own  boy  came  back  safe  and  sound," 
softly  added  Mrs.  Lawrence  on  whose  cheeks  stood 
two  bright  beads. 

"  So  they  are  in  the  Pacific,"  remarked  Captain 
Brunt  feeling  that  conversation  had  better  be  kept  up. 
"  Porter  has  gone  a  long  way  after  new  cover." 

"  I  suspected  that  all  along,"  said  the  Squire.  "  I  trust 
that  they  will  continue  to  find  nothing  but  stupid  old 
merchantmen  and  privateers." 

"  Even  if  the  Englishmen  follow  him,"  said  the  Cap 
tain,  "  The  South  Seas  are  a  large  haystack  in  which 
to  find  one  needle  like  the  Essex." 


News  from  the  South  Seas.  155 

"Yes,"  growled  Mr.  Lawrence,  "  but  Porter  is  just 
fool  enough  to  leave  a  good  thing  and  go  looking  for 
the  enemy  if  he  hears  they  are  after  him.  He  is  not 
much  older  than  poor  Jim  was,  you  know.  He  is 
called  *  the  old  man  '  merely  by  virtue  of  his  command. 
Isn't  that  it,  Smith  ?" 

Smith  had  not  said  a  word  since  hearing  the  letter 
read.  He  sat  looking  out  of  the  window  and  every 
now  and  then,  with  a  look  of  pain,  closing  his  eyes,  as  a 
man  will  do  in  an  effort  to  shut  out  a  sight  that  comes 
from  the  inner  vision.  The  picture  that  he  was  trying 
to  obliterate  was  that  of  the  golden-haired  middy  of 
the  Shannon.  Whether  it  was  the  illusion  of  his  shaken 
brains  and  fever,  or  whether  due  merely  to  similarity 
in  age  and  coloring,  a  likeness  of  the  poor  little  chap 
to  Teddy  had  fixed  itself  firmly  in  his  mind,  and  there 
still  clung  to  him  the  horror  not  only  that  such  a  child 
should  be  slain  but  that  he  himself  might  have  been 
the  slayer.  Now,  an  idea  came  to  him,  suggested  by 
Teddy's  letter,  and  backed  by  that  vision  of  the  dead 
reefer  and  the  desire  to  watch  over  his  own  little 
neighbor,  besides  the  longing  for  his  dear  Essex. 

"  Mr.  Lawrence,"  he  said,  "  the  Secretary  was  very 
kind  to  me  in  New  York,  you  remember.  I  can't  see 
what  pleased  him  particularly  about  my  coming  alive 
out  of  a  beaten  ship,  when  almost  every  decent  man 
aboard  of  her  was  killed,  and  all  I  did  was  to  get  my 
head  cracked.  Still,  he  certainly  did  talk  to  me  very 
kindly,  and  even  as  good  as  told  me  that  I  was  to  be 
promoted.  Now  do  you  suppose  that  they  would  let 
me  go  to  the  Pacific  and  hunt  for  the  old  ship,  instead 
of  taking  promotion  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  they  would,  lad,"  said  Mr.  Lawrence, 
pleased  with  the  idea.  "  Indeed  I've  no  doubt  they'd 


156  Smith   Brunt. 

be  glad  to,  and  to  have  you  take  messages  to  Captain 
Porter,  too.  But  how  in  the  world  could  you  ever  get 
to  him  ? " 

"  I'll  bet  on  doing  that,"  answered  Smith.  "  I'd  go 
straight  to  Valparaiso  and  you  may  be  pretty  sure  that 
the  old  man  keeps  himself  informed  of  who  and  what 
comes  into  that  port.  Everything  that  goes  round  the 
Horn  puts  naturally  into  Valparaiso.  All  mail  and  all 
news.  The  Englishmen  will  go  there  first  when  they 
chase  after  him.  He  will  undoubtedly  have  a  lookout 
there.  If  the  Essex  is  anywhere  near  that  coast,  I  shall 
soon  find  out  where  she  is,  or  the  skipper  will  find  out 
where  I  am  which  will  come  to  the  same  thing." 

"  How  do  you  know  he  hasn't  taken  into  his  head  to 
imitate  Drake  and  go  on  round  Good  Hope.  His 
cruise  has  begun  exactly  like  Drake's  and  it  may 
tickle  his  fancy  to  complete  the  similarity." 

"  Of  course,  there  is  a  chance  of  that.  But  they  will 
probably  know  something  about  that  at  the  depart 
ment.  I  dare  say  they  have  already  had  despatches 
from  him  by  the  consuls,  though  I  suspect  old  Logan  * 
didn't  say  a  word  until  he  got  safe  round  Cape  Horn. 
From  Teddy's  letter  you  see  they  were  at  Valparaiso 
on  the  i5th  of  March,  a  month  before  the  whaler  took 
this  letter.  Undoubtedly  the  skipper  sent  some  word 
from  there  to  Rio  and  Buenos  Ayres,  and  told  the  Con 
suls  at  all  three  places  how  to  keep  him  informed  about 
English  ships.  In  fact,"  concluded  Smith  warming  up 
with  his  plan,  "  I  am  almost  sure  the  department  can 
put  me  in  the  way  of  finding  the  old  ship  if  they  want 
to." 

*  A  nickname  of  Porter's,  probably  acquired  by  him  when  a 
youngster  in.  a  very  gallant  action  with  Piccaroons  in  the  Bight  of 
Leogane. 


News  from  the  South  Seas.  157 

Mr.  Lawrence  eagerly  fell  in  with  the  plan  for  plac 
ing  Smith  again  on  the  Essex  with  Teddy.  He  went 
himself  to  Washington,  insisting  that  Smith  should 
remain  as  long  as  possible  with  his  father,  and  that  he 
himself  could  do  more  at  the  capital. 

"  You  are  only  a  deserving  young  officer  of  the 
navy,"  he  explained,  "  whereas  I  control  a  good  many 
votes,  and  have  also  certain  other  good  claims  to  con 
sideration  in  military  and  naval  affairs." 

Evidently  he  was  not  mistaken  about  his  powers,  for 
at  the  end  of  ten  days  he  returned  with  secret  orders 
for  Smith  to  rejoin  the  Essex  on  the  Coast  of  Chili, 
and  suggestions  as  to  the  best  way  of  doing  so, 
together  with  despatches  for  Captain  Porter.  The 
messenger  was  also  allowed  to  choose  and  take  with 
him  "  any  one  good  and  trustworthy  seaman  belonging 
to  the  service,  and  not  attached  to  any  vessel  of  the 
United  States  now  in  commission."  Hence  Carman 
Hawkins  rejoiced.  Aunt  Hepsy  was  willing  and 
indeed  glad.  The  death  of  her  husband  seemed  to 
have  roused  in  her  all  the  grim  Puritan.  She  went 
about  quoting  and  misquoting  the  most  militant  texts 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  on  Sundays  read  all  the 
fighting  psalms. 

Smith  prepared  for  this  departure  with  none  of  the 
enthusiasm  he  had  shown  four  months  before  when 
leaving  to  join  Lawrence  on  the  Chesapeake.  In  those 
few  months  he  had  grown  much  older  and  different  in 
manner.  There  was  no  reluctance,  however,  in  his 
feelings,  nor  delay  in  his  actions,  and  two  days  after 
receiving  his  orders,  he  was  in  New  York.  There  he 
called  upon  Mr.  Temble. 

"  You   have   had   a   sad   experience   of   war,  young 


158  Smith   Brunt. 

officer,"  said  the  old  man.  "  Are  you  still  so  devoted 
to  the  navy  ?  " 

"  More  than  that,  sir,"  answered  Smith.  "I  am  a 
debtor  to  the  service  now0  I  have  a  flag  to  account 
for." 

"  And  have  you  no  private  account  to  settle  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  Temble  earnestly. 

"  Yes,  but  I  can  not  settle  it  while  this  war  goes  on. 
Have  you — have  you  heard  anything  from  your 
schooner  ? " 

"  Nothing.  When  you  are  ready  to  go  in  search  of 
her,  come  to  me.  I  am  still  anxious  for  you  to  find 
her,  and  I  shall  send  no  one  else." 

"The  moment  my  duty  permits,  Mr.  Temble.  You 
have  my  word  for  that." 

That  was  all  that  passed  between  them  on  the  sub 
ject. 

That  night  Smith  and  Carman  sailed  for  Havana  in 
a  pilot  schooner,  in  which  swift  and  close  pointing  craft 
they  had  little  difficulty  in  slipping  through  the  block 
ade. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ALL    IN    VALPARAISO    BAY. 

'"THE  unity  of  place  cannot  be  observed  in  a  tale  of 
1  a  sailor's  life.  In  this  log  all  three  unities  have 
been  smashed  to  bits  already,  as  the  reader  may  have 
perceived.  Therefore  we  need  not  stick  at  a  little  trip 
from  Long  Island  to  Chili.  On  the  magic  carpet  of 
literature  we  may  make  the  journey  between  chapters, 
and  hover  now  for  a  moment  over  Valparaiso  Bay  on 
the  28th  day  of  March,  1814. 

It  is  blowing  hard  from  the  South.  In  the  offing  to 
the  West  are  two  ships  close  hauled  on  the  starboard 
tack  for  the  Western  end  of  the  harbor.  One  is  a 
sloop-of-war,  the  other  shows  a  double  row  of  teeth, 
and  both  carry  the  red  cross  flag.  Inshore  of  them, 
with  the  wind  on  her  port  quarter,  sails  a  small  frigate 
also  making  for  the  Western  headland  under  a  press  of 
canvas.  From  her  peak  flies  the  Gridiron,  for  she  is 
none  other  than  the  U.  S.  S.  £ssex,  32,  Captain  David 
Porter. 

A  race  is  more  interesting  to  sail  than  to  watch,  so 
let  us  descend  to  our  frigate's  deck.  There,  in  the 
waist,  are  standing  together  an  officer,  a  midshipman, 
and  a  seaman,  the  last  of  whom  is  remarking, 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno.  If  we  cross  her  bow  at  all,  we'll 
be  kind  o'  likely  to  take  along  her  flying  jib-boom." 

Smith  and  Carman  Hawkins,  not  having  had  the 
advantage  of  our  carpet,  had  consumed  nearly  five 

J59 


160  Smith  Brunt. 

months  in  their  journey  to  Valparaiso.  They  had  run 
to  Havana  in  the  pilot  boat  under  Spanish  colors,  and 
from  there  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  a  Swedish  ship,  Smith  in 
the  character  of  an  English  traveller  and  Carman  as 
his  servant.  When  overhauled  by  a  British  cruiser,  the 
two  passengers  had  played  their  roles  successfully, 
thanks  to  Carm's  superb  efforts  of  silence  in  the 
background.  Finding  at  Buenos  Ayres  no  immediate 
prospect  of  a  passage  round  the  Horn,  Smith  decided 
to  make  the  overland  journey.  So  the  two  sailors 
joined  a  mule  train  bound  for  Valparaiso  and  steered 
their  course  over  the  pampas  and  the  passes  of 
the  Andes.  The  novelty  of  this  land  cruise  amused 
them  at  first,  but  wore  off  a  good  deal  by  the  end  of 
three  months  ;  indeed,  Carm  complained  that  "  consid 
erable  more  than  the  novelty  has  worn  off  between  me 
and  my  mule."  But  when  at  last  Smith  looked  down 
from  the  hills  above  Valparaiso,  he  forgot  all  the 
tedious  trials  of  the  journey.  There  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor,  lay  his  own  beloved  ship. 

His  delight  at  rejoining  her  increased  at  that  of  his 
brother  officers  and  at  their  astonishment.  He  made 
them  go  all  over  their  story-book  log  and  tell  him  of 
the  beautiful  islands  of  the  South  Seas,  of  the  fishing 
and  shooting  the  strange  people,  the  ships  they  had 
taken  ;  how  they  had  made  up  a  little  fleet  from  the 
prizes  and  cruised  about  in  squadron  ;  how  they  had 
planted  a  small  colony  ;  and  how  they  had  taken  part 
in  the  wars  of  the  island  natives,  helping  their  friends 
of  the  Marquesas  to  conquer  a  hostile  tribe,  all  quite 
like  Captain  Cook.  In  this  last  amusement  Mr.  Mid 
shipman  Lawrence  and  the  other  gentlemen  of  his  age 
had  been  allowed  no  share,  having  been  kept  instead 
at  their  lessons  under  the  Chaplain,  to  their  deep 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  161 

disgust.  Then  had  come  news  of  the  arrival  of  three 
English  ships  on  the  coast,  at  which  there  was  more 
joy  than  alarm.  For  by  that  time  the  chasing  of 
whalers  and  traders  had  begun  to  pall,  and,  though  pro 
fitable  to  the  captors  and  annoying  to  the  enemy,  was 
after  all  rather  like  pirate's  work  and  more  in  the  line 
of  a  privateer  than  in  that  of  a  man-of-war.  So  Cap 
tain  Porter  promptly  made  for  Valparaiso  in  the  hope  of 
catching  his  pursuers  apart,  and  on  the  way  perfected 
the  drill  in  all  arms  from  the  great  guns  to  single  sticks. 
After  a  jolly  month  in  Valparaiso,  they  were  joined 
there  by  two  of  the  Englishmen,  a  frigate,  the  Phoebe, 
36,  and  the  i8-gun  sloop  Cherub.  Of  the  former  they 
had  come  near  making  short  work,  in  the  moment  of 
her  arrival.  She  had  stood  straight  for  the  Essex, 
evidently  expecting  to  catch  her  unprepared,  and  had 
luffed  around  under  her  stern  and  shot  alongside. 
Instead  of. an  easy  prey,  however,  the  English  Captain 
Hillyar  found  the  Essex's  crew  all  at  quarters  and  her 
boarders  gathered  under  the  bulwarks,  whereat  he 
thought  upon  the  neutrality  of  the  port. 

"  When  he  saw  that  we  were  all  ready  for  him,"  said 
Lieutenant  McKnight  in  telling  Smith  about  it,  "  he 
jumped  on  the  taffrail,  raised  his  cap  most  politely,  and 
inquired  after  Captain  Porter's  health.  Seems  they've 
met  before,  in  the  Mediterranean.  *  Very  well,  I  thank 
you  '  says  Logan,  '  but  I  hope  you  will  not  come  too 
near  for  fear  of  some  accident  which  would  be  disagree 
able  to  you.  If  you  touch  a  rope  yarn  of  this  ship  I 
shall  board  instantly.'  He  backed  astern  without  foul 
ing  us,  and  that  was  a  pity  for  we'd  have  carried  him 
like  a  tornado.  Our  old  pots  are  good  for  nothing  at 
long  bowls,  but  they'd  have  smashed  him  all  to  pieces 
at  that  distance  ;  and  as  for  boarding,  you  know  our 


1 62  Smith  Brunt. 

lads  have  always  been  the  best  trained  in  the  service, 
and  they  are  better  now  than  ever.  I  don't  see  why 
the  old  man  had  to  be  so  confoundedly  careful  about 
the  neutrality;  You  can  bet  the  Britisher  wouldn't 
have  been,  if  he  had  caught  us  napping." 

The  English  ships  had  remained  a  little  while  in 
port,  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  sailormen,  having  foregone 
for  the  time  being  the  pleasure  of  cutting  each  other's 
crowns,  indulged  in  the  next  most  congenial  occupa 
tion  of  getting  drunk  together  ashore  and  fighting 
with  the  natural  weapons  of  their  race.  In  between 
ructions  they  raced  donkeys,  the  Englishmen  learning 
the  art  from  the  Americans,  who  during  their  stay  in 
port  had  become  proficient  in  riding  the  burros,  and  no 
doubt  all  united  at  all  times  with  good  natured  rivalry 
in  bullying  the  Chilians.  The  officers  dined  and  went 
about  together,,  and  became  very  good  friends,  as  the 
commanders  already  were.  Smith's  shipmates  spoke 
most  enthusiastically  of  the  Phoebe  s  first  lieutenant  in 
particular,  whose  name  was  Ingram,  and  of  another 
named  Wycherleigh.  Some  time  later,  everybody  left 
alive  on  the  Essex  and  able  to  walk,  went  to  young 
Ingram's  funeral.  After  all  these  centuries  we  are  not 
so  very  far  removed  from  the  Berserkers. 

Porter  did  his  best  to  persuade  his  friend  to  grant 
him  an  encounter  ship  for  ship.  The  English  commo 
dore,  however,  was  no  Lawrence,  but  a  man  of  fifty 
who  had  been  sent  to  the  South  Seas,  not  for  glory,  but 
for  the  Essex.  Having  completed  his  provisions  he 
put  to  sea,  and  began  a  blockade  of  the  harborc 

In  this  state  of  affairs  Smith  had  found  his  ship,  and 
from  her  deck  for  more  than  a  month  he  watched  the 
enemy  and  thought  of  the  Chesapeake.  Once  the 
Cherub  ran  a  good  distance  to  leeward,  and  the  Phoebe 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  163 

hoisted  a  flag  and  fired  a  weather  gun.  Taking  this 
for  a  challenge  the  Americans  rushed  out  in  delight, 
and  got  near  enough  to  actually  open  fire  when,  to  their 
astonishment,  Hillyar  bore  up  and  ran  down  to  his  con 
sort.  Again,  one  night,  they  tried  to  surprise  the 
British  frigate  with  boats,  but  found  her  prepared  for 
them. 

Learning  of  the  approach  of  more  British  ships  and 
in  despair  of  getting  a  fair  fight  by  remaining,  Porter 
finally  decided  to  make  a  dash  for  sea,  in  the  hope  of 
drawing  his  enemies  apart  in  chase. 

The  coast  of  Chili  runs  nearly  North,  forming  the 
Bay  of  Valparaiso  by  a  mere  jog  to  the  Eastward  with 
a  depression,  like  a  concave  step  in  the  coast  line. 
The  bay  is  therefore  hardly  more  than  half  a  harbor, 
being  all  open  to  the  North,  and  is  formed  like  a  fish 
hook  pulled  a  little  out  of  shape,  the  shank  extending 
indefinitely  along  the  coast  to  the  North,  the  bend 
lying  to  the  South,  and  the  point  on  the  West  sticking 
up  to  the  Northwest  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  The 
town  is  in  the  bend.  The  headland  forming  the  point 
is  called  the  Point  of  Angels.  The  blockading  ships 
kept  their  station  outside  and  near  the  point  to  the 
West.  The  wind  at  that  season  is  almost  always 
South,  so  if  Porter  sailed  North,  straight  out  of  the 
bay,  between  the  Englishmen  and  the  Eastern  shore,  or 
shank,  he  would  be  chased  to  leeward,  even  if  not  cut 
off.  To  windward  was  his  best  point  of  sailing  and 
the  Cherub's  worst.  That  he  knew.  He  therefore 
decided  to  watch  his  chance  and  slip  around  the  head 
land  on  the  West.  If  he  could  reach  the  point  and  luff 
round  it  ahead  of  the  Englishmen,  he  could  then  lead 
them  down  the  coast  in  a  beat  dead  to  windward. 
By  drawing  off  the  blockaders  after  himself,  he  would 


164 


Smith   Brunt. 


also  give  an   opportunity  for  escape  to  his  little  con 
sort,  the  schooner  Essex  Junior. 

On  the  very  next  day  after  its  adoption,  this  plan 
had  to  be  put  in  operation  and  that  swiftly.  For  on 
the  28th  of  March,  in  a  hard  souther,  the  Essex 
parted  one  of  her  cables  and  began  dragging  north 
ward  into  the  arms  of  the  waiting  enemy.  Porter 
acted  quickly  and  well.  He  knew  that  when  he  came 
to  haul  on  the  wind  around  the  Point  of  Angels,  he 
would  be  unable  to  carry  full  topsails,  but  that  as  far 
as  the  point  he  could  and  must  carry  on.  For  the 


COURSE.  OF  £3SfX 

&  CHERUB 

X    WHtRt   ACCIDENT   OCCURRED 


headland  lay  quartering  to  leeward  of  the  anchorage, 
and  to  get  to  it  before  the  Englishmen  was  the  vital 
play  of  the  whole  game.  He  would  need  all  canvas 
possible  up  to  the  very  moment  when  he  could  luff, 
and  then  would  have  to  shorten  sail  instantly  to  just 
the  proper  amount  for  the  windward  work.  Not  a 
minute  could  be  wasted  in  reefing  after  the  race 
began.  Therefore  he  single  reefed  his  topsails,  but 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  165 

over  them  set  his  topgallantsails  ;  and  then  rushed 
away  for  the  Point  of  Angels  with  the  wind  well  abaft 
the  beam.  The  Englishmen  at  once  comprehended 
the  move,  and  strained  their  bowlines  to  cut  him 
off.  They  were  much  nearer  to  the  point  in  actual 
distance,  but  so  far  to  leeward  that  they  could 
but  scarcely  head  up  for  it.  The  American  going 
freer,  of  course,  sailed  faster,  and  the  question  was 
whether  by  her  advantage  in  wind  she  could  make  up 
her  handicap  in  distance. 

In  this  position  we  found  the  Essex  at  the  beginning 
of  the  chapter  and  while  we  have  been  overhauling  her 
log,  she  has  run  almost  to  the  headland.  The  wind 
came  down  from  the  hills  in  furious  puffs  that  drove 
the  little  ship  down  to  her  gundeck,  and  sent  her  tear 
ing  along.  Anyone  who  has  seen  a  good  yacht  race 
may  form  some  idea  of  what  such  a  contest  would  be 
in  half  a  gale  between  full-rigged  men-of-war,  with  a 
probable  exchange  of  broadsides  as  part  of  the  sport. 

"  Maybe  she  can't  point  as  close  as  the  Dowicher" 
remarked  Carman  Hawkins,  as  they  all  leaned  to  wind 
ward  on  the  slanting  deck  and  looked  at  the  sea  boil 
ing  past  at  a  good  fourteen  knots,  "  but  I  guess  she's 
going  full  as  fast." 

"  We  shall  get  our  fight  with  the  frigate  yet,"  chuckled 
Smith.  "  See  how  she  drops  the  corvette." 

"  Guess  that's  what  the  Cap  is  hoping  for,"  added 
Carm.  "  If  the  Phoebe  has  a  mind  to  keep  company 
with  us  awhile  to  windward,  we'll  have  lots  of  fun 
together  before  the  other  feller  can  join  in.  That 
there  Cherub  is  too  slow  to  get  out  of  her  own  way." 

Closer  and  closer  the  three  racers  drew  together,  but 
now  the  Americans  could  see  a  good  stretch  of  clear 
water  between  the  point  and  the  enemy. 


i66  Smith   Brunt. 

"We're  going  to  do  it!"  cried  Teddy,  jumping  up 
and  down.  "We're  going  to  do  it  !  We're  going  to 
weather  them  easily." 

"By  George!  you're  right,  Ted,"  replied  Smith, 
nearly  as  excited  as  the  middy.  "  We  can  almost  haul 
up  now  There  !  Away  with  you,  Carm." 

The  admonition  was  unneeded,  for  Hawkins,  fore- 
topman,  had  sprung  away  at  the  first  note  of  the  boat 
swain's  whistle,  that  now  sounded  loud  and  merry  for 
the  topmen  to  lay  aloft.  In  another  minute  the  frigate 
was  luffing  around  the  point,  and  the  topgallantsails 
were  being  clewed  down. 

"  Look  there  !  "  cried  Teddy  suddenly,  pointing  to 
windward.  Over  the  land  was  a  cloud  of  dust  and 
leaves,  and  on  the  water  a  white  line  coming  rapidly. 
Again  the  whistle  rang  over  the  deck,  followed  by  the 
succession  of  orders,  quick  and  sharp,  for  taking  in  the 
topsails.  "  Let  go  the  halliards."  "  Brace  in  and 
clew  down."  "  Ease  away  the — what's  the  matter 
there  ? " 

The  yards  had  jammed  ! 

The  squall  struck,  the  frigate  staggered  down,  down 
to  her  bulwarks,  and  her  spars  buckled  fearfully. 
"  Lay  down  !  "  roared  the  lieutenant  through  his  trum 
pet.  "  Down  from  the  topgallant  yards."  But  with 
the  order  mingled  the  crack  of  the  maintopmast.  The 
race  was  settled,  and  four  good  men  went  to  their 
death  in  the  sea. 

"That  is  enough  for  to-day,"  quoth  Captain  Porter. 
"  Wear  ship,  Mr.  Wilmer,  and  get  back  to  the  port  if 
you  can." 

But  that  they  could  not  do  with  their  maintopmast 
gone,  and  succeeded  only  in  doubling  back  across  the 
bay  to  leeward  of  the  anchorage.  They  stood  close  in 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  167 

to  the  eastern  shore  and  anchored  under  a  small  bat 
tery,  within  the  neutrality  of  the  harbor,  at  least,  if  not 
in  the  actual  port  itself.  The  wind  had  blown  itself 
out  in  that  last  gust,  so  the  single  remaining  bower 
would  hold  until  they  could  refit. 

This  manoeuver  completed,  Smith  and  Teddy  mounted 
to  the  quarter  deck,  where  they  found  a  group  of 
officers  looking  seaward  and  talking  eagerly. 

"  Here  they  come  !  "  exclaimed  two  or  three  at  once, 
pointing  toward  the  English  ships. 

"  They  can't  mean  to  attack  us,"  said  another.  "  Hill- 
yar  promised  to  observe  the  neutrality,  didn't  he, 
Davy  ?  One  of  you  youngsters  heard  him." 

The  individual  addressed  was  a  viking  of  twelve 
summers,  and  much  pleased  at  being  consulted  in  the 
discussion,  but  replied  honestly  :  "  I  didn't  hear  him, 
but  Teddy  Lawrence  did,  didn't  you,  Ted  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  corroborated  Teddy.  "  It  was  up  there 
at  Mr.  Blanco's  house  when  he  and  the  skipper  first  met." 

"  Perhaps  he  draws  a  fine  distinction  between  the 
port  and  the  bay,"  suggested  Smith. 

"  More  likely  a  fine  distinction  between  a  frigate 
with  and  without  her  maintopmast,"  answered  another 
bitterly.  "  At  any  rate,  it  is  quite  evident  they  are  not 
coming  for  social  intercourse." 

The  enemy's  approach  was  certainly  suspicious.  Both 
his  ships  were  covered  with  ensigns  and  white  flags 
with  elaborate  mottoes. 

"  Look  at  Logan,"  said  some  one  in  an  undertone. 
On  the  starboard  side  of  the  quarter  deck  stood  Cap 
tain  Porter  glaring  at  the  Englishmen  under  his  drawn 
brows.  Presently  he  turned  toward  his  officers. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  about  our  friend's  intention, 
gentlemen,"  he  said  quietly,  "  and  he  shall  find  us  on 


1 68  Smith   Brunt. 

board.  Mr.  Wilmer,  beat  to  quarters,  if  you  please. 
Have  a  spring  bent  on  the  cable  so  as  to  bring  her 
broadside  to  bear." 

There  was  none  of  the  customary  cheering.  The 
men  went  to  quarters  almost  in  silence,  yet  with  a  man 
ner  that  made  Smith's  heart  leap.  "  Oh,  if  he  had  only 
had  this  crew,"  he  groaned  to  himself,  with  his  constant 
thought.  He  looked  at  the  approaching  ships  with  a 
grim  joy,  and  was  even  glad  there  were  two.  Then  he 
noticed  Teddy  and  his  friend  Davy  near  by,  and  his 
grim  joy  somewhat  diminished.  The  two  little  fellows, 
in  mingled  excitement  and  awe,  were  standing  on  a 
hatch  on  tiptoe  in  order  to  see  the  enemy  over  the  bul 
warks. 

On  came  the  English  ships,  and  the  Yankee  sailors 
leaned  on  their  guns  and  watched  them  with  the  dark 
look  of  men  wronged,  fierce,  and  at  bay.  Within  range 
of  long  guns  the  Photbe  lay  to  astern,  and  the  Cherub 
on  the  starboard  bow.  Then  began  the  battle  of  two 
able  ships  against  one  cripple.  No,  not  two  against 
one,  but  more  than  four  to  one  for  this  reason  : — on 
account  of  the  condition  of  the  Essex,  the  English  cap 
tains  could  choose  their  distance  and  did  so  with  admir 
able  judgment,  keeping  out  of  range  of  carronades, 
with  which  the  Essex  was  almost  wholly  armed,  and 
fighting  entirely  with  long  guns.  Of  these  the  Phcebe 
and  Cherub  together  had  seventeen  to  the  broadside, 
throwing  a  total  weight  of  273  pounds,  while  the  Essex 
had  but  three  to  a  broadside,  though,  by  shifting  the 
other  three  with  great  difficulty,  she  managed  during  a 
part  of  the  action  to  use  all  six,  throwing  all  together 
sixty-six  pounds.  A  simple  process  in  arithmetic  will 
show  how  much  revenge  Smith  Brunt  was  likely  to  get 
for  the  Chesapeake. 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  169 

Yet  worse  were  the  odds  at  first,  for  at  the  Phoebe  on 
account  of  her  position  astern  not  a  shot  could  be 
fired.  The  Cherub  had  come  within  reach,  and  in  five 
minutes  was  driven  to  the  safer  position  by  her  consort. 
Three  times  a  spring  was  bent  to  the  cable  and  three 
times  shot  away.  Then  through  the  raking  fire  three 
of  the  long  guns  were  hauled  aft,  and  run  out  of  the 
stern  ports.  And  they  handled  those  three  pieces 
against  the  two  broadsides  in  such  a  way  that,  in  half 
an  hour,  they  forced  the  enemy  to  haul  off  and  refit, 
and  caused  Captain  Hillyar  to  think  that  "  things  were 
looking  a  little  inauspicious." 

The  lull  was  not  for  long.  The  assailants  came 
again,  and  stationed  themselves  both  on  the  quarter,  out 
of  the  way  of  those  three  long  guns.  Again  the  one 
sided  slaughter  went  on,  and  the  men  of  the  Essex 
stood  there  quietly,  and  as  they  died  groaned,  "  Don't 
give  her  up,  Logan." 

Now,  however,  came  a  ray  of  hope.  This  time  the 
Phoebe  had  anchored  and  so  gave  a  possible  chance  to 
close.  The  order  was  given  to  cut  the  cable  and  make 
sail.  The  flying  jib  was  all  that  could  be  set,  for  the 
ropes  of  every  other  sail  were  shot  away.  This  they 
hoisted,  and  let  fall  the  sheetless  foresail  and  foretop- 
sail.  The  wind,  now  fallen  to  a  mere  breath,  was  but 
just  able  to  pay  off  the  frigate's  head  and  drift  her 
slowly  toward  the  enemy. 

As  a  bear  caught  in  a  trap  crawls  toward  his 
captors,  dragging  the  clog  by  his  maimed  leg,  and 
vainly  shows  his  teeth  in  rage  and  pain,  so  did  the 
poor  Essex  drag  her  bleeding  hull  toward  her  foes,  her 
crippled  spars  hanging  over  the  side,  her  carronades 
protruding  longingly,  while  her  crew  stretched  out 
their  arms,  shook  their  cutlasses,  and  yearned  to  fasten 


170  Smith   Brunt. 

on  the  English  ships.  And  as  the  hunters  keep  away 
from  those  fierce  teeth  and  out  of  reach  riddle  their 
prey,  so  did  the  two  English  ships  edge  off  and  keep 
up  the  fire  from  their  long  guns.  For  one  moment  the 
little  frigate  got  close  enough  to  bite,  and  then  she 
roared  as  never  a  32  has  roared  before  or  since.  In 
that  moment  her  maddened  sailors  drove  off  the 
Cherub  and  cried  for  joy  at  the  hope  of  boarding  the 
Phcebe. 

But  the  English  frigate  slipped  her  cable  and  moved 
again  out  of  range  like  an  enemy  in  a  nightmare. 
Keeping  easily  at  their  chosen  distance,  the  British 
ships  continued  to  pound  their  crippled  antagonist 
with  safety  and  deliberation.  One  ship  drifting  was 
an  easy  mark  for  two  under  sail. 

One  course  was  left, — to  run  her  ashore,  take  out 
the  wounded  and  blow  her  up.  Her  head  was  put  for 
the  beach  as  straight  as  the  deficient  sail  spread  would 
allow  ;  slowly  she  struggled  back  to  save  her  flag, 
fighting  every  long  gun  that  bore.  The  keel  had  almost 
grounded  when  suddenly  the  wind  veered  and  drove 
the  Essex  from  the  hope  of  self-destruction. 

They  anchored  again,  this  time  by  the  stern  with  the 
sheet  anchor.  If  the  Phcebe  did  not  perceive  this  and 
follow  suit,  they  might  yet  cripple  her  rigging  so  that 
in  the  failing  wind  she  would  be  carried  out  of  action 
by  the  tide  and  be  unable  to  get  back.  The  anchor 
from  the  quarter  brought  the  broadside  to  bear,  so 
they  shifted  and  worked  away  at  the  six  twelve  pounders. 

With  one  arm  wound  in  a  red-stained  handkerchief, 
and  his  jaws  hard  set,  leaned  against  the  foremast,  the 
only  lieutenant  remaining,  Smith  Brunt.*  For  more 

*F/V/<?Mr.  Stephen  Decatur  McKnight. 


In  Valporaiso  Bay.  171 

than  two  hours  he  had  looked  hungrily  at  those  elusive 
British  flags,  and  had  seen  the  perfect  crew  around 
him  shot  down,  one  man  after  another,  helpless,  un 
flinching, — a  crew  that  he  believed  could  have  crushed 
anything  in  its  reach,  with  either  cannon  or  cutlass. 
In  those  two  hours,  just  one  man  had  left  his  post  ;  he 
was  discovered  in  the  bag-house  by  a  shipmate,  William 
Call,  who  had  lost  a  leg  but  who  dragged  himself  about, 
bleeding  stump  and  all,  to  get  a  shot  at  the  skulker. 
This  same  coward  six  weeks  before,  when  there  had 
been  a  prospect  of  closing  with  the  Phoebe,  had  been 
seen  standing  out  on  the  cathead  with  drawn  cutlass, 
all  ablaze  to  lead  the  boarders.  Boarding  is  different 
from  standing  punishment. 

In  another  mould  was  Mr.  Carman  Hawkins  cast. 
Born  and  bred  in  a  climate  that  seems  to  make  men 
slow  to  wrath,  or  any  other  form  of  vivacity,  Carm 
never  entertained  any  idle  fancy  for  blood  and  glory. 
He  had  joined  the  service  professedly  for  pecuniary 
reasons  and  in  reality  (to  do  him  justice)  largely  from 
a  sense  of  duty,  but  certainly  not  for  any  love  of  fight 
ing.  Could  he  have  had  his  own  way  he  would  have 
avoided  all  engagements  not  plainly  necessary  or  pro 
fitable.  Now,  however,  to  use  his  own  expression  he 
was  "beginning  to  git  kind  of  annoyed."  For  a  long 
time,  he  had  waited  patiently  for  a  chance  at  a  long 
gun.  At  one  of  them  thirteen  men  had  been  killed  in 
succession,  and  as  each  went  down,  the  idle  crews  of 
the  carronades  had  begged  for  his  place.  Carm  was 
lying  flat  on  his  stomach  with  his  head  toward  an 
open  port  and  his  body  and  legs  disposed  parallel  to 
the  line  of  fire.  The  division  officer  asked  him  if  he 
were  wounded. 


172  Smith   Brunt. 

"  No  no,  I'm  all  right,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  I'm 
real  glad  I'm  thin." 

"  Then  why  are  you  lying  there  ?  "  demanded  the  of 
ficer  sharply. 

"  So's  to  be  in  good  shape  when  my  turn  comes  at 
that  twelve  pounder.  I  come  after  Nathan  Whiting 
here,  and  I  thought  may  be  I'd  be  handier  if  I  didn't 
lose  any  pieces  of  myself,"  explained  Carm  cheerfully. 
"  You  see,  sir,  I  don't  make  much  of  a  mark  stowed 
this  way,  and  when  a  shot  comes  through  that  port  it 
don't  bring  no  splinters  with  it  and  so  it  don't  make  a 
very  big  pattern.  One  come  through  just  now  and 
made  considerable  of  a  cold  draft  on  my  back,  but 
didn't  really  hurt  me  any  unless  it  maybe  stole  a  lock 
of  my  perfumed  tresses." 

"  You'll  do,"  laughed  the  lieutenant  and  passed  on 
quite  satisfied  as  to  the  Long  Islander. 

Teddy  and  the  rest  of  the  youngsters  had  been  run 
ning  about  on  errands  of  all  sorts  and  helping  when 
ever  called,  in  mishipman  fashion.  While  Carm  was 
watching  the  enemy  from  his  well  chosen  position  he 
heard  behind  him  in  a  shrill  voice,  "  Give  it  to  them, 
lads.  That's  a  good  one — ouch  !  Give  it  to  them." 
Something  in  the  tone  of  the  last  exhortation  made 
him  look  round  quickly.  There  on  the  deck  lay  the 
little  reefer,  with  his  hand  pressed  on  his  side  trying 
not  to  wriggle.  Carman  leaped  to  his  feet  and  took 
the  boy  in  his  arms. 

"  It  made  him  real  angry  when  I  picked  him  up," 
he  reported  afterwards.  "  And  he  says,  says  he,  '  Put 
me  down  !  Go  back  to  your  gun,  you  rascal,'  he 
says.  '  I'll  be  all  right  in  a  minute.  Put  me  down,  I  tell 
you.  You'll  discourage  the  men,'  he  says.  It  would 
have  made  me  laugh,  but  'y  Guy,  I  dunno,  when  I 


In  Valparaiso  Bay.  173 

looked  at  his  poor  little  side  all  torn  and  bloody,  I 
didn't  feel  no  great  highlarity,  now  I  tell  you.  I  took 
him  below,  and  come  back  mad  for  good." 

He  returned  just  in  time  to  catch  a  rammer  from  the 
hands  of  the  fifteenth  man  who  dropped  dead  at  the 
long  twelve.  Stripped  to  the  waist,  and  soon  black 
with  powder  and  sweat,  he  worked  away  with  increas 
ing  cheerfulness  as  the  battle  grew  more  and  more 
desperate  while  they  fought  on  at  anchor.  Grinning 
through  the  grime  on  his  face  he  remarked  occasion 
ally,  "  This  here  ain't  no  Chesapeake.  Oh,  if  we  had 
only  had  you  lads.  We  pricked  him  good  that  time. 
A  few  more  cracks  like  that  and  we'll  sink  the  careful 
snoozer  yet."  He  begged  the  captain  of  his  gun  for 
just  one  shot  and  obtained  the  favor.  "  Here  goes  to 
shove  out  her  mainmast,"  he  chuckled,  but  as  he 
sighted  along  the  piece,  the  muzzle  swung  out  of  line. 
The  cable  had  been  shot  away  ;  the  last  anchor  was 
gone  ;  and  she  was  drifting  toward  the  enemy,  with 
only  now  and  then  a  gun  bearing  as  she  turned  slightly 
one  way  or  the  other.  And  the  enemy  kept  away. 

The  little  tortured  craft  had  been  afire  several 
times,  and  was  now  spouting  flame  up  her  hatchways, 
as  the  whale  spouts  blood  in  his  flurry.  Men  with 
burning  clothes  came  on  deck  and  reported  the  fire 
near  the  magazine.  Some  of  the  powder  below 
actually  exploded.  Still  they  fought  any  gun  they 
could,  as  they  drifted  and  burned  ;  and  still  the  Eng 
lishmen  kept  away  and  pounded  them.  Captain  Porter 
went  below  and  when  he  came  again  on  deck  there 
was  bitter  grief  in  his  face.  He  sent  for  all  his  com 
missioned  officers.  Smith  alone  could  answer  that 
summons.  A  few  moments  the  young  lieutenant  con- 


174  Smith  Brunt. 

ferred  with  his  commander,  then  walked  to  the  side 
and  buried  his  face  in  his  arms. 

Carman  Hawkins  slipped  up  to  him. 

"  Don't  take  it  too  hard,"  he  whispered.  "  I  feel 
just  the  same  way.  We  all  do,  but — I  guess  he's 
right.  Teddy's  below  among  the  wounded." 

"Teddy?"  exclaimed  Smith  looking  up.  "And  I 
begged  to  go  on  !  God  forgive  me." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A    FAMOUS    VICTORY. 

THAT  was  a  sad  night  aboard  the  Essex,  prize. 
Over  fifty  were  laid  in  the  long  row  under  the 
canvas,  and  more  joined  them  during  the  night.  Thirty 
others  had  already  found  sailor's  graves  in  the  sea, 
including  the  first  lieutenant,  Mr.  Wilmer,  knocked 
overboard  by  a  shot.  Sixty-six  more  were  wounded, 
making  a  total  loss  of  155  out  of  255.  Bright,  lovable 
Cowell  died  because  he  refused  to  be  attended  ahead 
of  the  men,  saying  :  "  No,  doctor,  none  of  that.  Fair 
play  is  a  jewel.  One  man's  life  is  as  good  as  another's, 
and  I  wouldn't  cheat  any  poor  fellow  out  of  his  turn." 
Such  were  the  officers  of  the  Essex,  and  only  such  could 
have  made  that  Essex  crew. 

Poor  little  Teddy  Lawrence  suffered  terribly,  but 
made  a  brave  struggle  to  hide  his  pain  and  with  the 
still  harder  task  of  appearing  cheerful  after  the  surren 
der.  His  friend  Davy  had  come  to  him  and  tried  to 
break  the  news,  but  after  getting  out  the  first  two 
words  put  his  head  down  on  Teddy's  pillow,  and  the 
two  little  messmates  together  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears. 
After  this  relief,  however,  they  felt  rather  ashamed, 
being  men  and  having  put  away  childish  things,  and 
as  Smith  Brunt  entered  the  steerage  Davy  ran  off  to 
help  the  surgeons,  where  he  found  work  enough.  Teddy, 
cut  off  from  any  activity,  could  show  his  manhood  only 
by  patience.  He  squeezed  Smith's  hand,  and  asked 
after  Carman  Hawkins,  but  when  he  began  to  enquire 


176  Smith  Brunt. 

for  others  beginning  with   Mr.  Cowell,  Smith  forbade 
him  to  talk. 

"  I  wonder  if  Murphy  came  through  all  right,"  he 
murmured  faintly,  with  a  desperate  attempt  to  be 
cheerful.  Murphy,  it  may  be  remembered,  was  the  pig 
cap'tured  in  early  youth  by  the  midshipmen,  and  now 
the  ship's  pet.  When  the  doctor  came  he,  too,  laid  an 
embargo  on  Teddy's  tongue,  and  by  that  time  the  little 
white  lips  were  quite  willing  to  remain  quiet.  In  reply 
to  Smith's  anxious  "  How  is  he  ? "  as  they  left  the 
steerage  together,  the  doctor  shook  his  head. 

Next  morning  Smith  and  Davy  went  with  Captain 
Porter  aboard  the  Ph<zbe.  The  two  captains  retired  to 
Hillyar's  cabin,  and  the  reefer  was  invited  into  the 
steerage,  the  midshipmen's  quarters.  While  Smith  was 
standing  alone,  he  was  approached  by  a  good-looking 
watch  officer  of  about  his  own  age. 

"I  say, you  fellows  did  uncommon  well,  you  know, 
— by  Jove,  you  did  !  "  began  the  English  lieutenant,  by 
way  of  breaking  the  ice.  Then,  as  Smith  looked  up  at 
him,  he  exclaimed,  "  Why— why,  hullo,— how  d'ye  do  ? 
How  the  deuce  did  you  ever  get  here  ?" 

"  Largely  by  reason  of  your  long  eighteens,  I  should 
say,"  answered  Smith  with  a  smile.  "  But  I  can't  quite 
remember  where  we  have  met  before." 

"  Of  course  not.  I  forgot,"  laughed  the  Englishman. 
"  You  didn't  know  me  or  anybody  else  when  I  last  saw 
you  ;  that  is,  you  know,  if  you  are  the  man  I  think  you 
are  and  not  his  twin  brother.  Isn't  your  name  Brunt, 
and  weren't  you  on  the  Chesapeake?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Smith.     "  I  had  that  pleasure,  too." 
"You  do  seem  to  have  jolly  hard  luck,  don't  you?" 
said  the  other.     "  But  I'll  swear  the  Chesapeake  wasn't 
given   up  by  you,  anyway.     You  tried  to  stave  in  my 


A  Famous  Victory.  177 

head  after  the  thing  was  all  over,  you  know,  and  I 
came  near  doing  the  same  for  you,  but  fortunately 
I  saw  you  were  groggy  and  next  moment  you  toppled 
over.  You  were  out  of  your  head  at  Halifax  when  I 
left,  and  I  never  expected  you  to  pull  through.  Oh,  I 
say,  did  you  ever  get  a  gold  locket  I  left  for  you  with 
the  sailor  man  who  was  looking  after  you  ?" 

A  light  dawned  on  Smith. 

"  Are  you  the  fellow  from  the  Shannon"  he  asked, 
"who  was  so  kind  to  me  and  my  old  friend,  the  sea 
man  ?  I  can't  tell  you  how  delighted  I  am  to  get  a 
chance  to  thank  you.  Yes,  I  got  the  locket,  and  very 
glad  I  was  to  bring  it  home,  too,  I  assure  you." 

"  Why,  then,  it's  a  jolly  good  thing  I  noticed  it 
before  they  put  that  poor  old  giant  overboard.  He 
was  a  good  one,  wasn't  he  ?  Oh,  I  say,  he  was  a  first- 
rate.  But' come  below  while  you're  waiting  for  the  old 
man,  and  we'll  talk  it  over,"  and  the  good-natured 
young  sailor  led  the  way  to  the  wardroom,  which  he 
called  the  gunroom. 

"  Isn't  it  jolly  our  meeting  this  way  ?  "  he  continued. 
Then  as  he  glanced  at  the  American's  wounded  arm 
and  saw  him  smile  doubtfully,  he  hastened  to  add  : 
"  Oh,  I  forgot  what  hard  luck  you're  in.  Of  course,  I 
didn't  mean  that.  But  then,  you  know,  you  chaps  have 
got  all  the  glory  there  is,  this  time.  By  Jove,  I  don't 
see  how  you  stood  it  so  long  !  Cold-blooded  murder  I 
call  it,  and  I  heard  poor  Ingram,  just  before  he  was 
killed,  say  the  same  thing  to  the  old  man.  But  the 
skipper  said  he'd  made  his  reputation  already  so  that 
he  could  afford  to  save  his  men.  Dare  say  he  was 
right,  you  know,  but  it  isn't  what  Broke  would  have 
done,  not  much  it  isn't.  But  there  are  precious  few 
like  Broke.  From  what  I've  heard  and  what  I  saw, 


178  Smith  Brunt. 

your  poor  Captain  Lawrence  must  have  been  something 
like  him." 

"  And  from  what  I  have  been  told,"  said  Smith, 
"  your  Captain  Broke  must  be  something  like  my  Cap 
tain  Lawrence." 

"  Well,  have  it  that  way  if  you  like,  and  we'll  call  it 
square,"  laughed  the  young  Englishman  as  he  threw 
open  the  gunroom  door.  The  occupants  rose  as  Smith 
entered,  and  were  presented  by  the  announcement, 

"  That's  our  second  luff,  and  that's  the  sawbones, 
and  that  long  faced  non-com  over  there  is  the  blessed 
banker.  This  is  Mr.  Brunt  of  the  Essex.  Now  you  all 
know  each  other.  By-the-way,  my  name  is  Wycher- 
leigh." 

"  No  doubt  of  that,  Tom,"  laughed  the  purser  who 
had  been  more  particularly  described  as  above. 

"  Brunt  is  the  fellow  I  told  you  about  who  wanted  to 
slice  me  on  the  Chesapeake"'  went  on  Wycherleigh. 

"  If  you  had  succeeded,  Mr.  Brunt,  you  would  have 
saved  all  our  lives,"  said  the  doctor,  "for  Wycher 
leigh  will  talk  us  to  death  about  the  Shannon  before  this 
cruise  is  over." 

"  Oh,  I  say,"  exclaimed  Wycherleigh  suddenly,  "  how 
did  you  ever  turn  up  aboard  the  Essex  ?  I  thought 
she'd  been  here  a  year." 

They  all  seated  themselves  and  Smith  recounted  his 
journey  to  Valparaiso.  Then  they  compared  notes 
about  the  battle.  At  the  end  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes,  Smith's  politely  assumed  cheerfulness  became 
almost  real,  under  the  influence  of  Mr.  Thomas  Wycher 
leigh,  and  the  things  that  the  English  officers  one  and 
all  said  about  the  Essex. 

"Tell  you  what  it  is,  you  know,"  said  Wycherleigh. 
"  You  showed  us  that  you  Yankees  can  fight  like  good 


A  Famous  Victory.  179 

ones  when  you're  getting  thrashed.  We've  had  plenty 
of  chances  to  see  how  you  do  when  you're  winning,  you 
know,"  he  added  generously.  "But  we  didn't  think 
you  could  stand  punishment." 

"  Well  I'm  glad  we  satisfied  you  on  that  point,"  ans 
wered  Smith  with  a  mournful  smile  ;  "  but — but  I'd  a 
little  rather  have  left  you  in  the  dark." 

Just  then  they  heard  loud  voices  on  the  other  side  of 
the  forward  bulkhead,  and  cries  of  "  Ring  !  ring  !  ",  the 
tocsin  of  the  English  speaking  race,  far  more  so  in 
those  times  than  in  these  days  of  "  refinement." 

"Hullo,  what  is  going  on  among  the  mids  ? "  ex 
claimed  the  senior  lieutenant.  "  I  suppose  we  must  go 
in  and  stop  that,  or  at  least  the  noise." 

It  seemed  to  be  the  opinion  of  each  officer  present 
that  his  assistance  was  required  to  preserve  order  in 
the  steerage  country,  for  thither  they  all  adjourned  in 
a  body. 

Boys  are,  and  always  have  been  little  savages,  and 
probably  always  will  be,  until  civilization  eats  down  to 
the  root  of  manliness.  The  good  manners  on  both 
sides  that  had  made  pleasant  Smith's  visit  to  the 
ward-room,  could  hardly  be  expected  in  the  steerage. 
Master  Davy,  aged  twelve,  naturally  had  not  the  self- 
control  of  a  full  grown  gentleman  like  Smith,  nor  was 
his  position  made  easier  by  the  tact  of  his  hosts.  The 
result  was  that  after  struggling  manfully  for  awhile 
with  his  feelings,  the  captured  and  broken-hearted  sea- 
warrior  betook  himself  to  a  corner  and  there  sat  with  a 
small  fist  in  each  eye.  From  this  state  he  was  roused 
by  the  entrance  of  a  reefer  crying,  "  A  prize,  a  prize  * 
Ho,  boys  !  a  fine  grunter,  by  Jove  !  " 

There  before  his  horrified  eyes  Davy  beheld,  strug 
gling  in  the  arms  of  a  young  Briton,  the  beloved 


180  Smith   Brunt. 

Murphy  !  Flashing  with  indignation,  he  sprang  for 
ward  and  laid  hold  of  the  leg  of  the  porker. 

"  Give  me  that  pig  !  "  he  cried.     "  That's  mine." 

"  Ah,  but  you're  a  prisoner,"  was  the  exasperating 
reply,  "and  your  pig  also." 

"We  always  respect  private  property,"  answered 
Davy  with  dignity,  and  stoutly  held  to  the  pet  of  the 
Essex. 

"Go  it  my  little  Yankee,"  cried  the  older  mids  in 
delight.  "  If  you  can  thrash  Shorty  you  shall  have  the 

Pig-" 

"Agreed,"  said  Davy,  and  up  went  the  cry  that  had 
stirred  the  gunroom.  At  this  point  the  officers  came 
on  the  scene  and  at  once  appreciated  the  possibilities 
of  the  situation. 

"  Oh,  I  say,  this  is  too  good  to  stop,"  exclaimed 
Wycherleigh.  "  Gary  you're  acting  first  now,  you  go 
on  deck  and  don't  listen.  It's  all  quite  proper,  anyway  ; 
this  is  for  the  honor  of  the  ship  and  the  flag.  Brunt, 
you  take  your  man  ;  Rowdon,  you  handle  Shorty  ;  and 
I'll  be  referee." 

A  ring  was  cleared  in  the  open  space.  The  cham 
pions  stripped  off  their  jackets,  rolled  up  their  sleeves 
and  sat  on  the  knees  of  their  respective  seconds.  No 
doubt  this  was  all  very  brutal  ;  but  those  were  the  days 
when  the  best  and  highest  in  the  land  openly  loved 
boxing,  and  when  every  man  who  spoke  English  took 
pride  in  using  his  fists,  and  despised  the  knife  and  pistol. 
Those  modern  refinements  have  come  into  vogue 
among  our  roughs,  even  among  sailor  men,  since  the 
prize  ring  was  trampled  down  into  the  muck.  In 
those  days  our  pugilism,  which  embodied  fair  play,  was 
the  chief  point  of  superiority  we  assumed  over  other 
peoples  ;  now  we  have  abolished  that  difference  and 


A  Famous  Victory.  181 

still  boast  the  distinction.  If  you  are  shocked,  gentle 
reader,  by  this  scene  in  the  steerage  of  the  Phoebe, 
please  make  allowance  for  the  times,  or  else  skip  the 
rest  of  the  chapter. 

The  English  middy,  inverseJy  nicknamed  "  Shorty," 
was  nearly  half  a  head  taller  than  Davy  ;  but  the  latter 
had  acquired  much  experience  and  reputation  with  the 
gloves  (and  sometimes  without  them)  on  the  Essex, 
and  Smith  reposed  a  gleeful  confidence  in  the  American 
champion. 

"  He  has  the  reach  of  you,  Davy,"  he  whispered, 
"  and  he'll  probably  try  their  same  old  game  of  keep 
ing  off  and  hitting  you  at  long  range.  Don't  let  him 
do  it.  In-fighting  is  your  play." 

"  Gentlemen,"  announced  Wycherleigh,  "  I  have  the 
honor  of  introducing  two  of  the  most  remarkable 
bantams  that  ever  entered  the  ring, — Shorty,  the 
British  Lion's  Cub,  also  known  as  the  Phoebe's  Pet, 
and  the  young  Yankee  Phenomenon,  the  Essex  Infant. 
They  will  battle  for  the  stake  of  this  magnificent 
porker.  Shake  hands,  my  lads.  Time  !  " 

As  the  two  youngsters  faced  each  other  the  differ 
ence  in  height  was  very  apparent  ;  but  Davy  lost  no 
time  in  following  his  second's  advice.  Later  in  life  he 
developed  a  talent  for  ramming  ironclads  with  wooden 
ships,  and  pounding  forts  at  pistol  range,  and  this 
early  combat  he  conducted  on  the  same  principles. 
On  the  first  lead  he  lay  close  alongside,  and  let  go 
both  batteries,  starboard  and  port  in  rapid  succession, 
in  the  enemy's  midship  section,  thus  taking  his  wind 
at  the  start.  The  British  middy  came  back  at  him 
pluckily,  and  led  hard  with  his  right,  but  in  so  doing 
lowered  his  left  hand.  Quick  as  a  flash  Davy  took 
advantage  of  this  opening,  sent  in  his  right  like  a 


1 82  Smith  Brunt. 

bullet,  and  dropped  his  man  cleanly  to  the  deck.  End 
of  round  first. 

Second  Round.  The  English  mid  rushed  this  time. 
Davy  tried  to  stand  up  to  him  and  succeeded  in  getting 
in  again  on  his  ribs,  but  by  superior  weight  was  backed 
to  the  corner.  There  he  closed  with  his  adversary 
and  went  down  with  him,  thus  ending  that  round. 

"  Watch  him  carefully  now,"  counselled  Smith  as  he 
fanned  his  man.  "  He's  getting  wild  and  groggy 
already.  That  knockdown  dazed  him." 

Round  Third.  The  Essex  Infant  went  right  in  and 
landed  hard  twice.  Then  he  danced  back  until  he 
teased  the  other  into  overreaching  for  him  wildly, 
when  he  sprang  in  again  suddenly,  and  caught  him 
"  in  chancery."  This  grip  was  allowe'd  under  the  old 
P.  R.  rules,  and  meant  holding  a  man's  head  under 
one  arm  and  hitting  it  with  the  free  fist.  It  was  apt 
to  end  the  battle. 

"  That'll  do,  youngster,"  cried  Wycherleigh  as  Davy 
drew  back  his  fist  and  looked  at  him  inquiringly. 
"  You've  got  him  quite  in  limbo.  You  needn't  punch 
his  head.  Break  away  and  shake  hands."  Then  the 
referee  continued,  "  I  declare  the  Yankee  Phenomenon 
the  winner  of  this  fight,  and  hereby  award  him  the  pig." 

The  boys  shook  hands  and  separated.  Thus  was 
the  Essex  avenged  and  Murphy  rescued. 

And  so  ended  the  first  victory  of  the  First  Admiral 
of  these  United  States  of  America.  With  a  feeling  as 
triumphant  as  when  fifty  years  later  he  dropped  anchor 
in  front  of  New  Orleans,  Master  David  Glasgow 
Farragut  marched  off  with  his  pet  tucked  under  his 
arm.  For  my  part,  I  never  pause  in  front  of  that 
transfixing  bronze  in  Madison  Square  without  thinking 
of  the  twelve  year  old  reefer  and  Murphy  the  pig. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    TWO    LIEUTENANTS. 

VX7HATEVER  may  be  said  of  Captain  Hillyar's 
*^  breach  of  neutrality,  and  still  worse  what  was 
very  like  his  breach  of  faith,  at  least  his  treatment  of 
the  prisoners  was  above  reproach.  All  of  the  wounded 
were  removed  to  a  house  in  Valparaiso.  There  Smith 
spent  most  of  his  time  for  the  next  month,  as  a  hos 
pital  nurse,  and  watching  with  a  heavy  heart  at  Teddy's 
bedside.  His  own  hurt  was  a  flesh  wound  only,  and 
healed  rapidly  ;  but  the  case  of  his  patient  was  serious, 
indeed.  Teddy  had  been  mangled  by  splinters,  and 
for  nearly  ten  days  gave  no  sign  of  recovery. 

The  English  lieutenant,  Wycherleigh,  came  often  to 
see  them.  On  his  first  visit,  he  found  Smith  in  the 
room  where  the  wounded  midshipman  was  sleeping. 
He  was  stopped  on  the  threshold  by  Smith's  warning 
finger,  and  at  sight  of  the  boy  started  slightly  and 
then  looked  long  and  earnestly  at  the  young,  pain- 
drawn  face,  with  its  fringe  of  tumbled  yellow  curls. 
As  the  two  officers  left  the  room  together  on  tiptoe, 
Smith  noticed  a  striking  change  in  the  face  of  the 
jolly  young  Englishman. 

"  Pretty  hard  that  such  children  should  be  food  for 
powder,"  whispered  Wycherleigh.  "What  is  his 
name  ?  " 

"  Lawrence,"  replied  Smith. 

"  Any  relation  of  your  late  captain  ?  " 

183 


184  Smith   Brunt. 

"  Not  a  very  near  one.  It  is  the  same  family,  1 
believe." 

"  Do  you  know  his  people  ?" 

"  As  well  as  my  own  father,  and  as  long.  They  are 
my  best  friends  at  home." 

"Whew  !  "  whistled  Wycherleigh  !  "  God  help  you. 
I  know  what  that  is  ;  and  that  boy  looks  so  like  my 
poor  little  friend  that  it  took  me  all  aback.  Mine  was 
killed  in  boarding  the  Chesapeake"  and  he  shuddered. 

They  had  reached  the  veranda  of  the  hospital,  as 
Wycherleigh  said  this.  The  American  turned  on  him 
suddenly  and  gripped  his  shoulder.  Ever  since  he  had 
been  watching  Teddy,  Smith  had  been  more  than  ever 
oppressed  by  the  recollection  of  the  Shannon  s  middy. 

"  In  boarding  the  Chesapeake  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  Wych 
erleigh,  did  you  see  that  boy  killed  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  the  Englishman,  startled  by  Smith's 
earnestness.  "  Had  I  been  near  him  I  would  have  sent 
him  back  aboard  the  Shamwn.  Why  ?  For  Heaven's 
sake,"  he  added,  changing  color.  "You  didn't  do  it  ?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  gasped  Smith.  "  That  is  what 
haunts  me.  Was — was  he  killed  by  a  cut  ?" 

"  No,  a  bullet." 

"  Oh,  thank  God  !  I  am  spared  that  anyway.  I 
fired  my  pistol  only  once  and  know  where  that  shot 
went." 

Then  Smith  explained  the  horrible  doubt  that  had 
been  brooding  over  him.  By  way  of  turning  from  a 
subject  that  he  saw  was  even  more  painful  to  his  com 
panion  than  to  himself,  he  reminded  Wycherleigh  of 
the  locket. 

"  This  little  chap  is  the  owner  of  it  now,"  said  he. 
"  That  old  fellow  from  whose  neck  you  took  it,  was  an 
old  friend  of  Teddy's  ;  indeed,  he  had  brought  the 


The  Two  Lieutenants.  185 

boy  up,  you  might  say,  for  he'd  been  like  a  regular  tutor 
to  him.  When  Mr.  Lawrence  saw  the  locket  he  wanted 
Teddy  to  have  it.  So  did  the  old  sailor's  widow. 
They  both  said  the  old  man  had  always  intended  it  to 
go  to  the  boy,  who  had  been  the  apple  of  his  eye." 
Smith  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  give  any  further 
account  of  the  history  of  Orrin  and  Teddy. 

"  Isn't  it  jolly  I  saved  it  then  ? "  said  Wycherleigh, 
beginning  to  recover  his  spirits  in  the  sunshine.  "  By 
Jove,  what  a  small  world  it  is  !  And  I  feel  sure  the 
youngster  is  going  to  pull  through  and  I  shall  get  to 
know  him,  too.  I  say,  you  must  cheer  up,  you  know. 
I'm  afraid  I've  made  you  blue.  Here  comes  that 
bruiser,  Mr.  Midshipman  Farragut.  Hullo,  Mr.  Tom 
Cribb,  what  are  you  up  to  now  ?  Been  punching  any 
body's  head  to-day  ? " 

"  No,"  laughed  Davy,  as  he  went  by  with  his  hands 
full  of  lint.  "  I'm  making  bandages." 

"  Well,  that's  better  yet,"  said  Wycherleigh. 

"  The  two  occupations  are  apt  to  go  together,  it 
seems,"  remarked  Smith,  "  Here  you  are  trying  to 
comfort  me  for  what  you  did  your  best  to  accomplish 
three  days  ago,  and  the  original  cause  of  our  acquaint 
ance  was  my  attempt  to  crack  your  head." 

"  But  it  isn't  our  fault  that  we  have  to  hammer  each 
other,"  ans-wered  Wycherleigh,  "and  there  would  be 
no  use  in  being  sour  about  it  afterwards,  would  there  ? 
Well,  good-bye.  I  shall  see  you  again  before  the 
Phce.be  sails." 

All  of  the  wounded,  except  Teddy  and  one  other, 
recovered  within  the  month  sufficiently  to  be  taken 
aboard  the  Essex  Junior.  That  vessel  as  a  cartel  was 
to  take  the  prisoners  back  to  New  York.  All  had  been 
paroled,  or  exchanged  for  the  English  prisoners  on 


i86  Smith  Brunt. 

the  consort.  But  how  few  were  those  "  all "  !  The 
little  schooner  was  quite  able  to  carry  them,  and  they 
presented  a  pathetic  sight  when  mustered  on  her  deck. 
Smith  had  been  directed  by  Captain  Porter  to  remain 
behind  with  Teddy,  who  did  "  pull  through,"  but 
whose  recovery  was  slow  and  fruitful  of  anxiety.  The 
lieutenant  took  leave  of  his  shipmates  sadly  enough. 
How  long  would  it  be  now  before  he  could  balance  the 
account,  so  increased  by  this  last  cruise  on  his  debit 
side? 

"  Good-bye,  Mr.  Farragut,"  called  Wycherleigh,  who 
had  come  to  see  them  off.  "  I  hope  this  row  will  be 
over  before  you  grow  up  and  have  a  ship  of  your  own. 
I  should  hate  most  awfully  to  have  you  lay  me  aboard." 

So  the  Essex  Junior  sailed  away,  destined  to  be  sold 
at  New  York  and  turned  into  a  trader,  and  in  that  ca 
pacity  to  give  her  name  to  a  famous  cargo  of  Madeira 
which  should  always  recall  that  romantic  cruise  in  the 
South  Seas.  The  brave  little  mother  frigate  still  re 
mained  in  Valparaiso,  being  patched  up  by  her  cap 
tors  ;  and  a  long  task  they  found  it.  Had  she  not  been 
so  near  the  shore  the  burnt  and  battered  little  wreck 
could  never  have  been  kept  for  prize. 

Smith  turned  from  the  wharf  with  a  choking  in  his 
throat,  and  walked  silently  to  the  now  nearly  vacant 
hospital.  The  only  inmate  beside  Teddy  was  a  seaman 
whose  leg  had  been  shattered  and  cut  off.  Smith  sat 
down  by  the  midshipman's  bed. 

"  Have  they  sailed  ?  "  asked  Teddy. 

"  All  gone,  Ted.  Not  a  Yankee  here  now  but  you 
and  me,  and  poor  Briggs." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  said  a  voice  in  the  doorway.  "  I 
guess  there's  pretty  near  one  more." 

"  Carman   Hawkins  !  "   cried  Smith,  astonished   and 


The  Two  Lieutenants.  187 

partly  severe.  "  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  Did  Cap 
tain  Porter  give  you  permission  to  remain  ?  " 

"  There,  now  !  "  exclaimed  Carm.  "  Darned  if  I 
didn't  fergit  to  write  him  a  letter  about  it  !  Well,  it's 
my  fault  ;  I  can't  blame  him  for  the  oversight." 

"Your  time  is  not  up  and  you  would  probably  have 
been  exchanged  in  New  York,"  grumbled  Smith,  secretly 
rejoicing.  "  I  suppose  I  ought  to  shoot  you  for  deser 
tion." 

"  Better  wait  till  we  git  home,"  answered  Carm,  with 
a  grin.  "  I  may  come  in  handy  before  then." 

Mr.  Hawkins  justified  this  claim  at  once  by  helping 
to  move  Teddy's  bed  to  the  window. 

"  Aloft  there  !  "  shouted  a  voice  below.  Smith  looked 
out  and  saw  Wycherleigh. 

"  I  say,  I've  got  some  jolly  good  news,"  called  the 
young  Englishman.  "  May  I  come  up  ?" 

"  I'll  come  down,"  answered  Smith,  thinking  the  sick 
room  crowded  enough  already  without  this  Nor'wester. 

"  I  say,  Brunt,  how  are  you  going  home  ? "  was 
Wycherleigh's  first  exclamation  as  Smith  appeared  on 
the  veranda. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  replied  Smith.  "Teddy 
and  I  are  marooned.  It  will  be  at  least  two  weeks 
before  he  can  be  moved.  When  he  is  all  right  again,  I 
suppose  we  shall  take  the  first  craft  we  can  for  any 
port  from  which  we  can  get  home." 

"  And  I'll  tell  you  the  name  of  that  craft.  It's  the 
Essex''  quoth  Wycherleigh  triumphantly.  "  It  is  just 
this  way,  you  know.  I've  been  left  here  as  prize-mas 
ter  to  look  after  the  repairs  to  the  Essex,  and  take  her 
home  when  she  is  ready.  That  will  probably  be  in 
about  a  fortnight,  and  if  you  can't  go  then,  I  rather 
think  I  can  wait  a  few  days  until  you  can,  you  know. 


1 88  Smith   Brunt. 

By  coming  with  me  to  England  you  can  get  back  to 
the  States  more  quickly  and  surely  than  in  any  other 
way.  There  will  be  some  cartel,  or,  at  any  rate,  you 
can  cross  to  Halifax  or  Bermuda,  and  go  home  from 
there." 

The  advantages  of  this  plan  struck  Smith  at  once. 

"  I  shall  be  sooner  exchanged,  too,"  he  suggested, 
with  a  smile,  "  so  that  I  can  get  at  you  again.  I  could 
hardly  expect  to  be  exchanged  while  I  am  down  here, 
of  no  use  to  my  government." 

"  That's  true,"  assented  Wycherleigh,  "  and  the  Ad 
miralty  ought  to  promote  me  for  bringing  you  home 
for  stock  in  trade.  You  fellows  have  a  good  many 
more  of  us,  you  know,  than  we  have  of  you,  and  we 
have  the  French  to  fight,  too." 

"Well,"  laughed  Smith,  "I  can  contribute  an  able 
seaman  to  your  *  stock  in  trade.'  My  old  friend,  Haw 
kins,  has  staid  here  with  me.  Can  you  take  him  along, 
too?  " 

"  Of    course  I  can — rather,"  assented  Wycherleigh. 

"  Carm  claims  to  be  a  petty  officer,"  Smith  added. 
"  When  we  shook  out  our  foretopsail  on  that  pleasant 
day,  there  were  just  three  foretopmen  left  to  do  it,  so 
Carm  was  acting  captain  of  the  top  and  is  very  proud 
of  the  promotion." 

"  I  say,  won't  it  be  jolly  ?  "  Wycherleigh  went  on. 
"You'll  have  to  come  and  stop  with  me,  you  know,  and 
we'll  have  no  end  of  fun.  I  hope  to  get  leave  for  a 
while  when  I  get  home."  And  so  he  rattled  on  over 
plans  for  their  amusement. 

Smith  was  immensely  cheered  by  this  deliverance 
although  not  especially  enthusiastic  over  the  prospect 
of  the  visit  in  England  as  a  paroled  prisoner.  With  a 


The  Two  Lieutenants.  189 

light  heart  he  communicated  the  news  to  Teddy  and 
Carm,  but  was  astonished  by  its  effect  on  the  latter. 

"  No,  siree  !  "  Carm  exclaimed  hastily.  "  Not  on  your 
life  ;  you  don't  catch  C.  H.  within  reach  of  that  gol 
darned  British  Navy.  They  wouldn't  stop  to  fool  with 
no  exchange  ;  they'd  gobble  me  quick  as  plum  duff. 
They'd  say  I  spoke  English,  and  probably  had  a  cousin 
of  my  great  grandmother's  aunt  in  Liverpool  with  the 
same  complexion  as  me,  and  so  I  must  be  a  British 
subject  sure.  Like  as  not  some  one  would  swear  there'd 
been  a  man  with  my  name  on  some  ship  he  knew, 
and  then  I'd  get  flogged  to  the  bones  for  a  deserter. 
By  jiggers,  I  know  'em.  There  was  three  poor  fellers 
on  the  Peacock  that  had  been  taken  out  of  a  Yankee 
ship,  just  as  clear  Yankees  as  you  or  me  ; — one  of  'em, 
b'  Guy,  lived  to  Southold.  They  made  those  fellers  fight 
us,  fight  their  own  people  and  their  own  flag,  by  ginger, 
and  one  of  'em  was  killed  by  our  shot.  It's  safe 
enough  for  officers.  They  wouldn't  dare  to  come  that 
trick  on  you  ;  but  your  Uncle  Carm  kindly  regrets  that 
he  ain't  acceptin'  no  such  invitation.  You'll  have  to 
excuse  him,  please." 

Carm  was  finally  talked  out  of  his  fears,  though  not 
until  he  had  received  Tom  Wycherleigh's  personal 
promise  to  guard  him  until  he  should  leave  Great 
Britain  in  safety. 

By  the  time  the  Essex  was  ready  to  sail,  Teddy  was 
able  to  go  aboard  of  her,  and  so  was  the  one-legged  sea 
man.  So  the  four  Americans  embarked  once  more  on 
their  old  ship.  When  they  saw  the  Red  Cross  break  out 
at  her  peak  they  drew  together  at  the  side,  apart  from 
the  others,  and  looked  out  over  the  sea  without  speak 
ing  for  a  long  time.  They  were  only  prisoners,  but 
she 


190  Smith  Brunt. 

"  I  wonder  if  she'll  ever  fire  on  the  Gridiron," 
muttered  the  cripple,  leaning  heavily  on  his  crutches. 

"  No,  Briggs,  not  she"  answered  Smith,  huskily.  "  It 
is  only  her  poor,  empty  shell  after  all.  Her  soul  went 
aloft  when  her  flag  came  down." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

IN    CAPTIVITY    AT    VAUXHALL. 

'"PHE  lights  were  shining  in  Vauxhall  Gardens,  the 
*  musicians  played,  the  painted  players  danced  and 
sang,  and  the  London  audience  enjoyed  it  all  very  hap 
pily,  particularly  the  jokes  on  "  Boney,"  who  was  now 
safe  in  Elba.  In  one  of  the  boxes  sat  two  young  gentle 
men  who  a  few  months  before  in  a  far  distant  quarter  of 
the  globe  had  been  endeavoring  to  blow  each  other  into 
eternity.  That  prior  struggle  would  hardly  have  been 
guessed  by  any  one  who  now  saw  Smith  Brunt  and 
Tom  Wycherleigh  allied  against  a  bowl  of  punch.  The 
long  voyage  to  England  had  given  the  two  lieuten 
ants  a  strong  mutual  friendship  and  a  strong  common 
appetite. 

Mr.  Wycherleigh  had  brought  his  prize  into  the 
Thames,  and  having  duly  turned  her  over,  had  ob 
tained  -a  month's  leave,  and  thereupon  taken  a  tem 
porary  berth  with  his  prisoners  in  London.  Teddy 
Lawrence  had  almost  entirely  recovered  his  strength, 
but  his  stern  guardian  had  decided  that  bed  was  a  better 
place  for  him  than  Vauxhall  and  the  other  cruising 
grounds  selected  for  the  first  evening  ashore  by  the 
experienced  British  sailor.  Carman  Hawkins  was  sta 
tioned  at  the  lodgings  on  guard  over  the  reluctant  Mr. 
Lawrence,  and  was  quite  content,  being  fearful  of  press 
gangs  after  dark,  even  in  the  West  End. 

Of  all  sorts  and    conditions  of  men    there   is    none 

101 


192  Smith  Brunt. 

more  joyful  than  a  young  Englishman  returning  to 
London  in  the  season,  after  a  long  absence.  Tom 
Wycherleigh  had  been  away  for  two  years,  and  now 
was  come  home  after  playing  a  part  in  two  victories, 
of  which  one  at  least  was  certainly  brilliant.  No  won 
der  that  his  spirits  were  high  even  for  him.  All  round 
Cape  Horn,  and  up  through  the  Atlantic  he  had  dis 
coursed  of  the  advantages  for  a  young  man  in  Lon 
don  and  of  the  sports  of  his  home  in  Hampshire.  After 
a  dinner  at  White's,  that  had  in  no  way  diminished  his 
joviality,  he  had  laid  the  course  straight  for  Vauxhall 
Gardens — "  as  the  departure  "  he  explained. 

Smith  had  never  before  been  in  any  of  the  great 
capitals  of  Europe.  His  life  in  the  navy  had  been 
spent  for  the  most  part  in  our  own  hemisphere,  though 
he  had  seen  something  of  the  Mediterranean.  New 
York  was  then  a  little  provincial  town  with  one  theatre 
and  two  or  three  concert  gardens,  one  of  the  latter  be 
ing  named  after  its  great  London  model.  Never  had 
our  young  sailor  seen  any  such  place  of  amusement  as 
the  real  Vauxhall,  then  still  in  its  glory.  The  crowd,  the 
clothes,  the  glitter,  the  splendid  frivolity  of  it  all,  at 
first  almost  dazzled  him,  and  he  was  lifted  out  of  him 
self  by  his  unspoiled  interest  and  his  companion's  en 
thusiasm.  Tom  met  several  men  he  knew,  and  asked 
each  one  of  them  to  visit  his  father's  house  in  the  coun 
try.  Smith  noticed  that  these  young  men,  while  appar 
ently  glad  to  see  Tom,  showed  no  more  surprise  or 
pleasure  than  if  they  had  seen  him  that  morning.  This 
fact  impressed  itself  on  Wycherleigh  also,  for  when  the 
fourth  or  fifth  friend  had  nodded  to  him  pleasantly 
over  a  large  ruffle,  he  remarked, 

"  By  Jove,  you  know,  these  London  bloods  don't 
seem  to  know  or  care  how  long  a  fellow's  been  away." 


At  Vauxhall.  193 

"  I  suppose  time  flies  faster  here  than  in  the  South 
Seas,"  replied  Smith,  "  and  I  don't  wonder." 

"  Well,  here's  one  who'll  be  glad  to  see  me  anyway," 
said  Wycherleigh.  "  Hullo  there,  Major  Burke,  come 
here  and  have  some  punch.  Aha!  I  thought  that  would 
make  you  heave  to."  A  stout,  gray-haired  individual, 
who  was  passing  their  box,  turned  suddenly  at  this 
hail,  and  on  seeing  Tom  came  forward  with  out 
stretched  hand  and  a  rubicund  face  beaming  with 
delight. 

"  Why,  Tom,  me  boy,"  he  exclaimed,  with  just  a  touch 
of  brogue.  "It  is  your  own  self,  it  is  ?  And  when  did 
you  get  home  ? " 

"  Came  ashore  this  morning.  Come  in  here  and  sit 
down." 

"  I  last  heard  of  you  from  Phil  Broke,  and  I  haven't 
heard  of  you  since,"  said  the  newcomer,  acting  on  the 
invitation.  "  He  told  me  of  your  glory  on  the  Shannon, 
bless  her  name,  and  said  you'd  gone  to  the  South  Seas 
huntin'  for  more  Yankees.  'Deed  and  you  made  a 
better  job  with  them  than  ever  I  did  when  I  consorted 
with  the  divils.  Sure  they  played  wicked  tricks  with 
our  good  regiment  in  the  old  days,  with  their  outrage 
ous  long  rifles." 

"  Here  is  one  of  them  now,"  cried  Tom.  "  Better 
look  out  or  he'll  tomahawk  you." 

"  No,  I  have  given  up  all  my  weapons,"  laughed  Smith, 
"  I  am  only  a  poor  prisoner  languishing,  as  you  see,  in 
a  British  dungeon." 

"Are  you  indeed  ?  "  asked  the  Major,  with  great  in 
terest.  "  Tom  doesn't  load  you  with  very  heavy  chains 
I'm  thinking,  but  take  care  he  doesn't  load  you  with 
too  much  of  this  punch  of  Simpson's.  'Tis  worse  than 
fetters.  So,  me  boy,  you're  an  American  prisoner  of 


194  Smith   Brunt. 

war,  are  ye  ?  Well  now,  'tis  very  glad  to  meet  you  I 
am  and  turn  about  is  fair  play.  God  knows  I  was  taken 
prisoner  meself  once  in  your  country.  And  I  had  as 
good  luck  as  you,  too,  for  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  near 
as  good  a  lad  as  Tom  here,  and  sure  that's  saying  a 
great  deal.  Oh,  he  was  the  broth  of  a  boy,  was  my 
captor.  I  never  told  ye  of  that,  Tom,  did  I  now  ?  I 
don't  often  tell  it  at  all,  that's  a  fact,  and  I'd  say  nothing 
about  it  now  but  that  it  may  make  your  friend  here 
feel  a  bit  easier.  'Twas  in  the  old  war  with  your 
thirteen  contrairy  colonies,  me  lad,  and  one  of  your 
countrymen  did  two  things  that  no  other  living  man 
alive  or  dead  has  ever  done  to  me  since  I  was  born  or 
before.  First  off,  he  took  me  prisoner,  and  then  he  put 
me  under  the  table.  Oh  wirrah,  wirrah,  to  think  that 
Terence  Burke  of  the  i5th,  should  have  been  drunk  off 
his  legs  by  a  country  captain  of  rebel  yeomanry. 
'Twas  the  most  painful  defeat  I  ever  suffered  in  me 
military  career.  But  he  was  a  great  lad  that  Yankee 
captain,  he  was  that,  a  great  lad." 

"  Was  his  name  Lawrence  by  any  chance  ?  "  asked 
Smith,  his  eyes  twinkling. 

"  It  was, — and  for  the  love  of  Heaven  how  did  you 
know  that?"  exclaimed  Major  Burke.  "  Lawrence  it 
was  and  I'll  never  forget  him.  D'ye  know  him  ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  replied  Smith,  "  and  I've  heard  him  tell 
that  story  too.  I  knew  you  also,  Major  Burke,  at  least 
by  reputation,  as  soon  as  you  mentioned  the  i5th.  My 
father  was  in  your  regiment  and  often  speaks  of  you. 
My  name  is  Brunt." 

"You  don't  mean  to  say  you're  the  son  of  Bob 
Brunt  ?  "  cried  the  Major,  leaning  over  the  table  and 
gazing  into  Smith's  face  with  great  earnestness.  "  Yes, 
I  can  see  the  look  of  him,  but  you're  not  so  handsome 


At  Vauxhall. 

and  no  reflection  on  you  for  that.  Well,  well,  well,  to 
think  I  should  meet  Bob  Brunt's  boy  !  And  where  is 
your  father  now  ?  A  finer  officer  never  wore  the 
King's  livery.  Faith,  he  was  the  best  thing,  'deed  and 
the  only  good  thing  his  Majesty  ever  got  out  of  the 
colonies — until  he  got  his  armies  out." 

For  half  an  hour  Smith  was  kept  busy  answering 
questions  about  Captain  Brunt.  After  that  the  conversa 
tion  drifted  back  to  their  present  surroundings.  The 
Major,  who  appeared  to  know  everybody,  both  on  and 
off  the  stage,  pointed  out  celebrities  of  all  sorts  and 
recounted  the  latest  gossip  connected  with  each. 
Smith  was  thoroughly  enjoying  himself,  when  two 
young  men,  sauntering  by,  turned  at  a  hail  from  Tom. 

"How  do,  \Vycherleigh,"  replied  one,  rather  lan 
guidly,  putting  two  fingers  into  Tom's  paw,  while  both 
nodded  to  the  Major.  "  What  are  you  doing  with 
yourself  now  ?  You're  looking  very  robust.  Still  in 
the  navy  I  suppose  ?" 

"  Just  back  from  a  two  years'  cruise,"  said  Tom. 
"  How  are  you,  old  buck  ?  I'm  uncommon  glad  to  see 
you." 

"  Tom  has  been  in  great  luck,"  added  the  Major. 
"  He  has  been  winning  glory  from  the  Yankees,  which 
by  the  same  token  mighty  few  of  us  have  done,  and  he 
has  brought  one  home  with  him,  and  a  good  one  too, 
Mr.  Brunt,  Mr.  Burton." 

"  Burton  here,  is  an  old  schoolmate  of  mine,"  said 
Tom  to  Smith  ;  and  then  to  the  other,  "Brunt  is  one  of 
the  chaps  who  made  such  a  rattling  good  fight  on  the 
Essex,  you  know." 

"  Really  ?"  murmured  the  newcomer  bowing  to  Smith. 
"  Have  we  got  a  war  on  now  with  the  Americans  ? " 


196  Smith  Brunt. 

"  Have  we  ?  "  ejaculated  Tom.  "  Oh,  come  now,  I  say, 
Burton,  that's  rather  good,  you  know." 

"  You  might  ask  that  question  of  poor  Dacres,"  sug 
gested  the  Major.  "  Broke  might  enlighten  you  too, 
or  Garden." 

"  Oh,  dear  me,  I've  heard  all  about  it,"  put  in  the 
other  stroller,  "  but  I  fancied  we  were  being  awfully 
thrashed  all  the  time,  don't  you  know.  You  don't 
mean  to  say  that  we  are  actually  able  to  whip  the 
Yankees  once  in  a  while  ? " 

"  I,  at  least,  am  in  no  position  to  deny  it,"  said 
Smith  with  a  very  labored  smile. 

"  Ton  my  word  it  must  have  been  by  accident," 
responded  the  Englishman,  "  quite  by  accident,  I  assure 
you." 

"  Beg  pardon  for  my  ignorance,"  drawled  the  first 
dandy,  "  but  we  seem  to  have  so  many  wars  on  hand, 
that  you  can't  expect  a  poor  civilian  to  keep  track,  of 
them  all.  I've  no  doubt  you're  covered  with  glory, 
Tom.  Hearts  of  oak,  you  know,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing.  You,  too,  Mr.  Brunt.  Sussex  must  have  been 
a  very  distinguished  ship,  Pm  sure.  Glad  to  have  met 
you.  Good-night,  Tom.  Expect  you  to  be  an  Admiral 
soon."  And  the  old  schoolmate  strolled  off  in  the 
crowd  with  his  companion,  looking  up  at  the  boxes. 

"  I  say,  that's  a  jolly  warm  welcome  for  a  fellow 
from  an  old  pal  who  hasn't  seen  him  for  two  years, 
now  isn't  it?"  said  Wycherleigh,  ruefully.  "I  don't 
see  why  Cecil  Burton  should  make  fun  of  me  that  way. 
I  wasn't  blowing,  was  I  ?  " 

Smith  was  silent,  but  doing  a  great  deal  of  thinking. 
That  drawling  question  had  suddenly  turned  his  whole 
evening  bitter.  "  Have  we  got  a  war  on  with  the 
Americans  ? "  Was  it  for  this  that  the  Essex  had 


At  Vauxhall.  197 

dripped  blood  for  two  hours  and  a  half  ?  For  this, 
was  it,  that  his  beloved,  glorious  Lawrence  and  noble 
old  Orrin  had  given  their  lives  ?  Had  they  made  so 
little  impression  on  this  Mammoth,  that  the  idlers  of 
London  did  not  even  know  they  were  at  war  ?  One  did 
not  know,  and  another  did  not  care.  He  remembered 
the  distress  in  New  York,  the  paralyzed  commerce, 
the  straightened  incomes,  the  houses  in  mourning, 
the  gathering  at  Trinity  Church.  A  great  bitterness 
rose  in  his  heart,  and  he  hated  everything  he  saw. 
He  would  have  liked  to  set  a  torch  to  all  the  tinsel 
before  him,  and  swept  out  the  laughing  crowd  with 
what  was  left  of  the  Essex  boarders.  He  grew  most 
angry  with  himself,  for  having  so  far  forgotten  his  posi 
tion  as  to  have  actually  enjoyed  for  awhile  this  Baby 
lonish  captivity. 

Major  Burke  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  watched 
the  two  young  sailors  for  a  few  moments  with  keen 
amusement.  Then  he  began  laughing  quietly,  and 
repeated  : — 

"  The  divil  did  grin,  for  his  favorite  sin 
Is  the  pride  that's  after  apin'  humility." 

"  Sure  the  Laureate  spoke  truth  when  he  wrote 
that.  You  boys  aren't  familiar  with  that  kind  of  maco- 
ronies,  are  ye  now  ?  Ye  don't  breed  them  at  sea. 
Tom  knows  more  about  them  than  you,  Brunt,  me  boy, 
for  your  country  isn't  old  enough  yet  and  ye're  not 
self-satisfied  enough  to  have  learned  the  real  fine 
tricks  of  boasting.  Troth  it  takes  a  mighty  conceited 
man  to  laugh  at  himself.  Of  course,  me  boy,"  he  con 
tinued  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  'tis  quite  true  that 
the  British  Empire  is  not  going  to  pieces  because 
you've  taken  half  a  dozen  ships  out  of  its  thousand  or 


198  Smith   Brunt. 

so.  But  cheer  up  now  ;  between  you  and  me  and  the 
lamp-post  we've  been  just  as  delighted  over  our  two  or 
three  victories  as  you  were  over  yours,  and  we  had  a 
good  right  to  be.  Faith,  Tom,  we  made  the  divil's 
own  noise  over  Broke,  when  he  came  home.  Banged 
off  the  Tower  Guns,  and  ruled  Britannia,  and  the  whole 
of  it.  'Deed,  now  I  think  of  it,  there's  a  chap  here 
who'll  sing  a  song  later  on,  about  the  Shannon,  all  full 
of  British  steel  and  gallant  tars  and  all  the  rest  of  it. 
I'm  thinkin'  you'll  enjoy  that,  Brunt,  me  boy." 

"  Pshaw,  don't  let's  stay  for  it,"  exclaimed  Tom  who 
suspected  that  his  guest  had  been  hurt  by  the  humble 
insolence  of  Burton.  "  That  sort  of  thing  is  all  such  rot, 
you  know.  Especially  when  it's  sung  by  a  fellow  who 
never  smelled  powder  in  his  life  and  applauded  by  a  lot 
of  lubbers  who  wouldn't  go  within  reach  of  a  Yankee 
broadside  for  anything,  not  much  they  wouldn't.  Isn't 
there  any  fight  at  Cribbs  to-night  ?  Come,  Major 
Burke,  you  pilot  us  round  there." 

"  Nonsense,"  broke  in  Smith,  recovering  his  manners 
and  fearing  that  he  had  disclosed  his  annoyance.  In 
deed  he  was  touched  by  Wycherleigh's  evident  sym 
pathy  and  appreciated  that  there  were  Britons  and 
Britons.  After  all  were  there  not  also  Yankees  and 
Yankees  and  had  he  not  been  made  to  suffer  some 
times  at  home  by  the  same  sort  of  man  as  had  just 
been  speaking  to  them, — de  Voe  for  instance  ?  "  Let's 
wait  and  hear  the  song,"  he  continued,  "  I  wouldn't 
miss  it  for  anything.  Major  Burke  is  quite  right  ;  it 
will  be  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  find  that  after  all,  you 
people  blow  just  as  hard  as  we  do  ;  though  I  doubt 
whether  you  can  produce  the  equal  of  a  patriotic 
American  newspaper  or  a  candidate  for  Congress." 

"Oh,  ye're  both  just  exactly  alike,  only  more    so," 


At  Vauxhall.  199 

observed  the  Major.  *'  The  only  really  modest  people 
at  all  in  the  world  is  the  Irish,  and  all  the  more  credit 
to  us  when  ye  consider  our  great  merits." 

Then  they  all  laughed  and  the  good  humor  of  both 
youngsters  was  restored.  But  Smith's  evening  had 
been  spoiled.  The  simpering  vulgarity  on  the  stage 
disgusted  him  ;  the  gayety  on  the  grounds  and  bril 
liance  in  the  boxes  made  him  inwardly  sad,  by  their  con 
trast  with  his  recent  experiences.  The  music  which 
had  before  elated,  now  tended  to  depress  him  ;  for  like 
wine,  it  is  apt  to  exaggerate  the  mood  of  the  absorber. 

"  I  was  do-wn  in  your  country  last  winter,  Tom,"  re 
marked  the  Major,  turning  the  conversation.  "  I  had 
two  weeks  hunting  with  Stanville  and  rode  over  one 
day  to  see  your  father." 

"  Oh,  did  you  ?"  said  Wycherleigh.  "  How  did  you 
find  the  old  gentlemen  ?  I  know  he  II  be  glad  to  see 
me.  Brunt  and  I  are  going  down  to  Tormouth  this 
week,  London  or  no  London.  By  the  way,  I  suppose 
I  ought  to  see  my  brother.  Do  you  know  whether  he 
is  in  town  ?  " 

"  He  is.  Haven't  you  seen  him  ?  Sure  he's  here  to 
night,  and  in  mighty  good  company,  too,"  added  the 
Major.  "  Let's  see  now  which  box — Yes,  there  he 
is,  look  there  now.  The  fourth  box  from  the  en-d,  there, 
by  that  tree." 

"Hullo,  so  he  is,"  said  Tom  and  then  exclaimed, 
"  by  Jove,  I  should  think  he  was  in  good  company  ! 
Who  is  that  ?  I  say,  what  a  clipper  she  is  !  Look 
over  there,  Smith.  That  man  is  my  older  brother, 
Hugh,  but  just  look  at  that  girl  he  is  with.  Isn't  she 
— What's  the  matter  with  you  ? " 

Smith's  eyes  were  riveted  on  the  box  indicated,  nis 
face  had  turned  pale  and  his  mouth  was  half  open. 


2oo  Smith  Brunt. 

"  What — what  did  you  say  was  her  name  ? "  he 
asked. 

"I  didn't  say  anything  was  her  name,"  replied  Tom. 
"What's  the  matter  with  you,  man  ?  Is  that  the  way 
feminine  beauty  affects  you?  Gad!  I  believe  he's  in 
love  at  first  sight." 

"  Faith,  we'd  better  take  him  away  then,"  said  the 
Major,  "  for  she's  a  married  woman  and  that's  her 
husband  in  the  box  there,  chaperoning  Hugh,  I  sup 
pose.  She  is  a  Mrs.  de  Voe,"  he  went  on,  "  and  now  I 
think  of  it,  Brunt  me  boy,  I  believe  she's  a  fellow 
countryman  of  yours.  They  seem  to  think  it's  better 
here  than  on  the  other  side  during  the  war,  and  'deed 
they're  en  joying  themselves  exceedingly.  They  turned 
up  last  season,  no  one  exactly  knows  whence  or  how, 
but  they're  up  with  the  hounds  now,  I  can  tell  ye." 

"  I  suppose  of  course  you  know  her  ?  "  asked  Wycher- 
leigh.  "You  always  know  everybody." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I've  met  the  lady,"  answered  the  Major, 
"  and  very  charming  she  is  too  ;  and  the  husband  can 
ride  and  shoot  and  play  for  any  amount.  I  don't 
know  them  very  well  though.  My  half-pay  doesn't 
cover  the  game  they  play  in  that  set.  They're  in  with 
the  Prince  and  all  his  lot.  You  might  get  Hugh  to 
present  you,  now,  and  if  you'll  play  cards  with  the 
husband,  you  can  see  all  you  want  of  them  both.  Your 
brother  has  been  very  devoted  in  that  quarter  all  this 
season." 

"  I  know  them,"  interrupted  Smith  quietly,  thinking 
it  high  time  to  let  that  fact  be  known. 

"  Do  you  really?"  exclaimed  Lieutenant  Thomas  en 
thusiastically.  "  Isn't  that  jolly  !  Let's  go  over  and 
speak  them.  I'll  fraternise  with  my  brother,  and  you 
can  do  Auld  Lang  Syne  with  them,  you  know  ;  and 


At  Vauxhall.  201 

then  I'll  present  you  to  Hugh,  and  you  can  present  me 
to  the  lady.  Why  it's  plain  sailing  as  a  trade  wind. 
Come  along." 

"  Aisy  Tom,  aisy  ye  rantin'  tar,"  laughed  the  Major. 
"  Brunt,  me  boy,  don't  misunderstand  anything  I've 
said,  if  this  couple  are  friends  of  yours.  No  one  in  my 
hearing  has  ever  breathed  a  disrespectful  word  about 
Mrs.  de  Voe,  though  I  myself  have  no  great  liking  for 
her  spouse.  However,  I  dare  say  he's  a  very  good 
chap,  and  after  all  his  ways  are  those  of  many  in  high 
circles  these  days." 

"  They  are  not  friends  of  mine  particularly,"  answered 
Smith,  "  though  I  have  always  admired  Mrs.  de  Voe 
and  am  very  glad  to  hear  that — what  you  say.  If  you 
don't  mind,  Tom,  I  would  a  little  rather  not  meet  them. 
When  does  this  song  come  on  about  the  Chesapeake  and 
Shannon  ?  " 

"  'Tis  not  worth  hearing  at  all,"  asserted  the  Major. 
"  Come  now,  boys,  come  round  both  of  ye  to  the  club 
with  me  and  get  some  decent  supper.  Come,  Tom,  ye 
salt-water  omadhoun.'' 

Smith  seconded  the  old  gentleman's  proposal  with 
gratitude  in  his  heart,  and  good-natured  Tom  made  no 
objection  ;  so  they  adjourned  to  the  Major's  club.  By 
a  great  effort  aided  by  the  Irishman's  tact,  our  lad  kept 
up  an  appearance  of  good  humor  over  the  kidneys  ; 
but  when  Wycherleigh  declared  that  the  evening  was 
still  young  and  set  forth  a  catalogue  of  places  to  which 
duty  called  them  before  going  to  bed,  Smith  begged  off 
with  apologies,  Tom  denounced  him  for  desertion,  but 
finally  acquiesced  and  went  off  with  Major  Burke, 
leaving  Smith  to  retreat  to  the  lodgings  in  no  very 
happy  frame  of  mind. 

It  was  now  nearly  two  years  since  that   episode   on 


202  Smith   Brunt. 

the  beach.  To  say  that  Grace  Temble  had  never  been 
out  of  Smith's  mind  during  that  time  would  be  very 
far  from  the  truthc  In  the  beginning  he  had  resolved 
manfully  to  end  his  six  years  dream  of  love  ;  for  the  idol 
was  or  should  be  another  man's  wife.  The  hone  to 
find  her  married  and  to  avenge  her  if  not,  was  the  grim 
prose  into  which  his  boyhood's  poem  had  been  turned. 
Of  course,  he  had  expected  to  remain  all  his  life  a 
broken  hearted  man,  treasuring  the  memory  of  his 
early  vision  ;  but  as  he  looked  back  now  upon  those 
two  years  of  crowded  action,  he  felt  just  a  little  ashamed 
of  how  often  the  early  vision  had  gone  out  of  his  head. 
Not  that  he  had  ever  forgotten  his  promise  to  Mr. 
Temble  or  his  own  desire  to  search  for  the  stolen  girl. 
Though  no  longer  lady  of  his  love,  she  was  still  his 
Faery  Queene ;  he  still  considered  himself  bound  to  her 
service  next  to  that  of  his  country,  and  had  looked 
forward  eagerly,  even  fiercely,  to  the  quest.  Now,  here 
was  Gloriana  revelling  with  the  gayest  set  in  the  capi 
tal  of  a  nation  at  war  with  her  own.  Worse  still,  her 
name  was  in  the  mouths  of  men  and  almost  in  peril 
of  being  lightly  spoken. 

"  So  Herbert  de  Voe  is  a  renegade,  and  perhaps  a 
traitor,  as  well  as  a  woman-thief,"  thought  Smith  bit 
terly.  "  At  any  rate,  thank  Heaven,  he  has  married  her 
— or  at  least  tells  the  world  so." 

He  determined  if  possible  to  make  certain  of  that 
point  in  the  morning,  and  to  have  an  interview  with  the 
couple  so  that  he  could  take  some  message  back  to  old 
Temble. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

AT    THE    COACHING    INN. 

1VIEXT  morning  Tom  Wycherleigh  appeared  at  break 
fast  as  the  other  two  were  finishing. 

"  I  say,  Smith,"  remarked  His  Majesty's  officer, 
looking  rather  gingerly  at  the  steak  and  eggs, 
"  what  do  you  say  to  go  down  to  Tormouth  to-day  ? 
I  have  a  leaning  this  morning  toward  green  fields,  and 
daisies,  and  little  birds  and  all  that  sort  of  game." 

"  Oh,  you  have,  eh  !  "  laughed  Smith.  "  I  rather  ex 
pected  last  night  that  you  might  have  sentiments  of 
that  sort  in  the  morning,  if  you  touched  at  all  the 
ports  you  mentioned.  Well,  I  am  ready  to  leave  as 
soon  as  you  are." 

"  Ain't  I  going  to  see  anything  of  London?"  com 
plained  Mr.  Midshipman  Lawrence. 

"Take  my  advice,  Teddy,  my  son,  and  stick  to  the 
daisies  and  little  birds,"  quoth  Lieutenant  Wycher 
leigh  solemnly.  "  You'll  find  better  things  in  the 
country  than  here.  You  can  ride  the  pony  and  go 
fishing.  I  met  my  brother  Hugh  at  Watiers,"  he  con 
tinued  to  Smith,  "  after  you  deserted  last  night.  He 
is  going  down  to-day  in  his  own  trap,  but  can't  take  us 
because  he  has  some  others  with  him.  He'll  tell  'em 
at  home  that  we're  coming  on  the  coach,  so  they'll  send 
over  for  us  to  Marry-St. -Culvert.  So  if  agreeable  to 
you,  and  if  Teddy  can  give  up  the  dissipations  of  the 
capital,  we'll  hoist  Blue  Peter  to-day." 

Smith  was  satisfied,  the  more  so  because  Wycher- 

203 


204  Smith   Brunt. 

leigh's  home  was  nearer  Portsmouth,  whence  a  cartel 
for  America  would  be  most  likely  to  sail.  Ted  was 
appeased  by  the  prospect  of  a  cruise  on  a  real  English 
coach  like  those  in  pictures,  and  went  out  to  tell  Car 
man  Hawkins. 

"  I  have  something  to  do  this  morning  which  may 
delay  me,"  Smith  said,  when  Teddy  had  gone.  •'  I 
must  call  on  those  people  whom  we  saw  last  night,  the 
de  Voes.  By  the  way,  don't  mention  their  name  to 
Ted  yet.  Now  how  can  I  find  them  ? " 

"  Hugh  could  probably  give  you  their  address," 
replied  Tom,  "but  he'll  be  underway  for  Hampshire 
before  we  can  make  his  lodgings.  Old  Burke  is  the 
man.  He  knows  everything." 

So  to  the  Major's  rooms  they  went  as  soon  as  Tom 
had  finished  breakfast.  They  found  the  retired 
warrior  in  bed  and  from  him  got  the  desired  address, 
besides  many  messages  for  Captain  Brunt  and  Mr. 
Lawrence,  chief  among  which  was  to  remember  that 
they  had  grown  old  and  must  never  try  to  skylark 
with  young  lads  just  home  from  sea.  Then  the  two 
went  straight  to  the  address  given,  Tom  acting  as 
pilot. 

"  I  know  it's  rather  early  for  a  visit,"  explained 
Smith,  "  but  this  is  not  a  mere  politeness,  and  I  want  to 
be  sure  of  finding  them.  You  wait  until  I.  find  out 
whether  or  not  they  will  see  me.  If  they  will,  I  can 
find  my  way  back  alone  I  think." 

The  woman  who  answered  the  door-bell  of  the  lodg 
ing  house,  did  not  seem  in  the  best  of  humors.  "  No, 
they're  not  here,"  she  said  gruffly. 

"Have  you  any  idea  when  they  will  be  back  or  where 
I  could  find  them  in  the  meantime  ?  "  inquired  Smith. 

"  That's  what  I'd  like  to  know  myself,"  growled  the 


At  the  Coaching  Inn.  205 

matron,  evidently  the  landlady.  "  They're  gone  out  of 
here  and  so  is  all  their  luggage,  the  more  fool  I." 

"  Have  they  moved  ? "  asked  Smith  anxiously. 
"  Don't  you  know  where  they  have  gone  ?  " 

"  That  I  don't.  There's  a  good  many  more  would 
like  to  know  that  too,  I'm  thinkin'.  If  you  find  out  let 
me  know,"  and  she  slammed  the  door  in  Smith's  face. 

Smith  looked  blankly  at  Tom,  who  grinned. 

"Might  call  at  the  Fleet,"  suggested  Tom.  "Un 
common  fashionable  resort  that,  you  know.  Rather 
think  though  that  your  friends  also  have  got  the  yearn 
ing  for  daisies." 

"  What's  to  be  done  ?  "  queried  Smith  in  vexation. 

"The  best  thing  you  can  do,"  suggested  Tom  "  is  to 
come  home  with  me.  From  all  accounts,  my  brother 
Hugh  is  as  likely  as  anybody  to  know  where  they  are. 
Perhaps  he  won't  mind  telling  you,  if  he  is  sure  you're 
not  a  bailiff.  If  they  are  in  England  you  can  find  them 
before  you  go — if  it's  so  very  important  to  do  so." 

In  the  afternoon  they  embarked  on  the  Winches 
ter  coach.  That  vehicle  delighted  the  Americans, 
with  the  exception  of  Carman  Hawkins,  who  could  not 
be  persuaded  that  the  coach  was  properly  ballasted 
and  not  crank.  They  were  all  alarmed  when  Tom 
Wycherleigh,  having  secured  the  box  seat,  insisted  on 
taking  the  reins  from  the  coachman.  His  trick  at  the 
wheel  did  not  last  long,  however,  for  he  shortly  got  the 
whole  team  snarled  up,  two  on  opposite  tacks  and  two 
flat  aback,  and  had  to  give  up  under  fire  of  Teddy's 
jeers. 

Carman  was  much  impressed  with  the  general  neat 
ness  of  the  country.  "  'Tain't  no  use  talkin',  "  he  re 
marked,  "  them  hedges  do  look  nice.  Wouldn't  my 
Aunt  Hepsy  like  'em?  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,  though,"  he 


206  Smith   Brunt. 

added,  reflectively,  "  I  kind  o'  mistrust  that  folks  here 
abouts  don't  have  a  great  deal  o'  time  to  go  gunnin'. 
Guess  I'm  glad  I  don't  have  to  mow  them  lawns  my 
self.  Hold  on  there,  Cap,"  he  cried  to  the  driver,  as 
they  bumped  over  a  stone,  "  sing  out  before  you  take 
another  puff  like  that,  and  give  us  a  chance  to  get  to 
windward."  Finally,  declaring  that  he  would  rather 
take  his  chances  on  the  lower  deck,  he  went  below  and 
travelled  inside  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

A  coach  is  a  fascinating  thing  in  a  print,  and  delight 
ful  to  try  as  an  experience  for  a  short  drive,  much  as 
are  the  goat  carts  of  early  youth  in  Central  Park  ;  but 
on  the  second  night  our  travelers  were  well  content  to 
make  the  lights  of  the  George's  Head  at  Winchester. 

"  Now  for  supper,"  exclaimed  Wycherleigh,  as  they 
descended  to  the  courtyard  of  the  inn.  They  found 
the  innkeeper  in  a  terrible  flurry. 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  he  said  to  Tom,  "  whether  I  can 
take  you  all  in  or  not,  we're  that  crowded.  'Ere's  his 
Royal  'Ighness  just  come  and  never  sends  me  a  warn 
ing.  We  must  make  room  for  'im  if  he  stops  the 
night,  w'ich  'e  doesn't  know.  'E's  quite  hincog,  sir, 
quite  hincog.  Don't  say  that  I  mentioned  him  ;  he 
doesn't  want  any  bother.  And  there's  a  lady  and  gentle 
man  arrived  to-day  in  a  chaise  with  another  gentleman, 
and  they  'aven't  decided  yet  w'ether  they'll  go  on  with 
'im  to-night,  or  stop  over  and  take  the  Southampton 
coach  in  the  morning.  I  can  let  you  know  soon,  sir." 

"  We'll  berth  in  the  kitchen,  then,"  answered  the 
willing  Wycherleigh,  "  but  we  want  food  at  any  rate, 
and  a  place  to  clean  up." 

"  You  can  'ave  one  room,  at  all  events,  sir,"  replied 
the  host,  and  then  turned  with  similar  explanations  to 
the  other  passengers,  "Ere's  'is  Royal  'Ighness,  but 


At  the  Coaching  Inn.  207 

quite  hincog,  sir,  quite  hincog.  Don't  say  I  mentioned 
him,  etc." 

Smith  went  upstairs  to  the  one  room,  to  get  rid 
of  some  of  the  soil  of  Old  England,  while  the  others 
stayed  below  a  few  minutes  to  order  supper.  It  so 
happened  that  the  washstand  whereat  he  performed  his 
ablutions  stood  by  the  window.  This  window  was  open, 
it  being  then  the  season  of  midsummer.  The  window 
of  the  next  room  must  also  have  been  open,  or  else  the 
walls  of  English  inns  are  not  as  thick  and  well  built  as 
we  are  led  by  books  of  travel  to  suppose.  At  any  rate, 
as  our  sailor  bent  his  head  over  the  basin,  he  heard  a 
voice  that  caused  him  to  start  and  pause  with  his  face 
dripping.  The  voice  was  but  too  well  known  to  him, 
and  called  up  unpleasant  recollections  of  the  last  time 
he  had  heard  it. 

"  I  can't  sail  for  at  least  two  weeks  yet,"  it  said 
"  and  we  might  just  as  well  save  the  board  and  lodg 
ing  in  Southampton.  Besides,  the  man  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  me  in  this  venture,  and  I  must  keep  on 
good  terms  with  him." 

"I  can't,  Herbert,  I  can't,"  pleaded  another  voice, 
equally  familiar.  "  I  don't  see  how  you  can  urge  me. 
I  hate  him.  Can't  you  see  how  offensive,  how  intolera 
ble  he  is  ?  His  attentions  have  made  talk  enough 
already,  I  fear.  I  don't  see  how  you  can  make  me 
suffer  him  any  longer." 

"  Stuff,"  answered  the  other.  "  Don't  be  so  squeam 
ish.  Do  you  suppose  for  a  moment  I'll  let  him  go  too  far  ? 
Pshaw  !  he  is  just  as  afraid  of  me  as  you  are  of  him." 

"That  only  means  the  possibility  of  a  duel,  and  that 
would  be  poor  comfort  to  your  wife.  Oh,  but  I  hate 
this  whole  Hfe.  I — I  wish  we  had  never  come  here." 
Then  followed  a  few  sobs. 


208  Smith   Brunt. 

"Well,  perhaps  you  would  like  to  go  back  to  New 
York,  the  Park  theatre  and  Castle  Garden,  the  round 
of  high  teas  with  the  red  table-cloth,  interspersed  with 
those  forty-ton  dinners  at  your  father's,  and  for  excite 
ment  an  occasional  walk  around  the  Battery,"  said  the 
first  voice,  rendered  still  more  recognizable  by  the 
sneer  in  it.  "  Then  your  good  father  would  be  so  over 
joyed  to  get  back  his  schooner,  and  his  daughter,  and 
an  affectionate  son-in-law,  with  nothing  but  his  affec 
tion  ;  and  it  would  be  so  nice  to  live  in  New  York  on 
nothing.  This  country  is  better  adapted  to  that  feat. 
See  here,  Grace,  if  I  make  a  success  of  this  voyage 
we  can  go  home,  and  give  back  his  schooner  to  the  old 
man,  and  something  besides.  But  the  whole  thing  will 
fall  through  if  you  don't  help  me  to  handle  it.  I  can't 
put  it  off  any  longer,  either.  A  man  can't  live  on 
cards  forever,  you  know — at  least  I  haven't  quite  got 
down  to  that  yet  as  a  sure  livelihood." 

So  far  during  this  conversation  Smith  had  been 
standing  motionless,  bent  over  the  washstand,  too  as 
tonished  to  be  aware  that  he  was  eavesdropping,  though 
unintentionally.  The  noisy  advent  of  Tom  and  Teddy 
in  the  room  recalled  his  perceptions.  He  shut  the 
window  with  a  slam,  and  buried  his  face  in  a  towel. 
For  a  few  minutes  he  did  some  hard  thinking.  At  any 
rate,  she  was  surely  married — of  that  he  had  no  further 
doubt.  He  wanted,  if  possible,  to  keep  Teddy  from 
meeting  them  yet  awhile,  and  to  see  them  himself,  if 
he  could  do  so  in  private. 

"  Tom,  is  there  no  other  inn  where  we  can  go,  if 
these  people  don't  evacuate  the  rooms  for  us  ? "  he 
asked  after  polishing  his  visage  thoroughly. 

"  No  other  that's  good  for  anything.  We  can  turn 
in  here  all  right.  We'll  draw  lots  for  the  bed,  and  the 


At  the  Coaching  Inn.  209 

two  who  lose  can  sling  blankets  from  chairs.  We'll 
decide  all  that  after  supper,"  replied  Tom  cheerily. 
"  Perhaps  his  Royal  Tghness  quite  hincog  will  get  out 
and  make  room  for  us.  Wonder  which  H.  R.  H.  it  is. 
If  it's  his  jolly  old  Highness  of  York,  by  Jove,  there'll 
be  nothing  left  to  drink  in  the  house." 

Smith  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  unlocking  the 
portmanteau  used  in  common  by  himself  and  Teddy. 
After  that  he  remembered  that  he  had  used  up  most  of 
the  water  and  had  to  ring  for  more.  When  the  water 
came,  Tom  and  Teddy,  who  were  in  boisterous  spirits, 
fell  into  combat  over  who  should  use  the  basin  first. 
Teddy  hove  a  sponge  at  Tom,  and  got  chased  round 
the  room  with  a  towel.  During  this  shindy,  Smith's 
intent  ears  heard  the  door  of  the  next  room  open  and 
shut  and  footsteps  descending  the  stair. 

"  Come,  come,  stop  this  unbecoming  conduct,"  he 
cried  to  the  larkers,  "I'll  masthead  you  both." 

"  Shut  up,"  answered  Tom.  "  Who  gave  you  the 
deck  ? " 

"  Oh,  you'll  mutiny,  will  you,"  said  Smith,  taking  the 
key  out  of  the  door.  "  I'll  bring  you  to,"  and  slipping 
out  quickly  he  locked  the  door  and  called  through  the 
key-hole,  "  I'll  come  up  and  let  you  out  after  supper." 

"  Huh  !  "  chuckled  Teddy.  "  Smith  thinks-  he's 
pretty  smart.  Just  as  if  we  couldn't  slide  out  of  that 
window  with  the  bed  clothes." 

They  had  no  need  to  use  that  means  of  egress,  how 
ever,  for  before  they  had  finished  their  toilet,  Smith 
re-appeared. 

"  We  shall  have  plenty  of  room,"  he  said.  "  The 
people  who  were  undecided  about  going  to  Southamp 
ton,  drove  off  in  a  private  rig  just  as  I  got  below. 
And  supper  is  ready." 


2io  Smith   Brunt. 

"Wonder  who  they  were  ?"  queried  Tom. 

"  Mine  host  didn't  know  or  he  wouldn't  tell," 
answered  Smith,  but  when  Mr.  Midshipman  Lawrence 
had  run  out  of  the  room  ahead  of  them  and  slid  down 
the  banisters,  he  added  in  a  lower  tone,  "  Two  of 
them  were  the  de  Voes." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  feel  obliged  to  chase  'em  do 
you  ?  "  inquired  Tom  anxiously. 

"  How  far  is  your  place  from  Southampton  ? "  was 
the  Yankee  reply. 

"  About  twenty  miles." 

"  All  right  then.     I  guess  there  is  no-  hurry." 

The  supper  room  was  arranged  with  stalls,  and  a 
long  table  in  the  center.  The  three  travelers  took 
one  end  of  the  table.  At  the  other  end,  sat  a  stout 
matron  and  three  thin  daughters,  who  had  been  inside 
passengers  on  the  coach. 

"I  wonder  where  Capting  'Awkins  may  be?"  re 
marked  one  of  the  maidens,  during  a  pause  in  her 
consumption  of  potted  pigeon. 

"You  should  call  him  Capting-of-the-Foretop 
'Awkins,  my  dear,"  corrected  her  mother.  "  Always 
give  a  hofficer  'is  full  title  when  speakin'  of  him." 

"  No,  Ma,"  replied  the  daughter.  "  You  know  the 
Capting  said  the  Hamerikins  is  so  very  democratic,  and 
and  'e  didn't  never  like'  to  carry  hall  'is  title." 

"  And  very  modest  of  'im,  too,  I'm  sure,  to  want  to 
be  called  plain  Capting  'Awkins,"  said  another 
daughter,  "for  'e  says  Capting-of-the-Foretop  is  the 
'ighest  position  in  the  Hamerikin  Navy." 

"  No,  next  to  the  'ighest,"  corrected  the  mother.  "  I 
remember  'e  said  that  capting  of  some  other  top  \vas 
the  'ighest." 

"Yes,  there  are  three  top  places,"  put  in  the   well 


At  the  Coaching  Inn.  211 

informed  daughter,  "  Capting-of-the-Mizzing,  Capting- 
of-the-Fore,  and  Capting-of-the-Main.  They  are  like 
our  Hadmirals  of  the  Red,  W'ite,  and  Blue.  They 
don't  'ave  Hadmirals  in  the  States.  Fancy  'is  liking 
to  wear  the  uniform  of  a  simple  tar,  too.  'Ow  very 
hunhostentatiyous."  This  was  assented  to  by  a  chorus 
of  "  Fancy." 

"  I  dare  say  now  'e's  a-takin'  supper  with  the  Duke," 
suggested  the  mother.  "  I  'ope  'e  won't  miss  'is  Tgh- 
ness  for  I  'ear  'is  Tghness  is  a-goin'  away  to-night. 
Didn't  the  Capting  say  'e  was  a-goin'  to  wisit  Lord 
Wycherleigh?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  a  maiden.  "  'E  said  it  was  very 
'ard  for  him  to  be  a  prisoner,  but  that  everybody  'as 
been  quite  polite.  After  he  leaves  Lord  Wycherleigh 
'e's  a-goin'  to  stop  with  the-  Lord  Tgh  Hadmiral  and 
the  Duke  of  Clarence.  But  I'm  sure  'e's  not  at  all 
proud  and  very  haffable." 

During  this  conversation  the  three  sailors  had  been 
having  some  difficulty  with  their  supper.  Smith  had 
choked  on  a  hot  potato,  Tom  had  wasted  a  mouthful 
of  good  ale,  and  Teddy  had  spent  a  moment  under  the 
table.  Tom  now  leaned  toward  the  speakers  and  said 
gravely. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  madame,  for  over-hearing  your 
conversation,  but  do  I  understand  that  the  great 
American  Captain-of-the-Foretop  Hawkins  is  at  this 
inn  ?  I  had  heard  of  his  capture,  and  knew  that  he 
was  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

"  Yes,  indeed,  sir,"  replied  the  matron.  "  'E  is  at  this 
wery  hinn  at  this  wery  moment.  And  a  most  hagree- 
able  man  is  the  Capting,  too,  my  word  he  is." 

"  I  have  always  heard  that  he  was  a  sad  dog  among 
the  ladies,"  said  Tom,  shaking  his  head. 


212  Smith   Brunt. 

"  Oh  Lawks,  sir,  you  don't  say  so  ?  "  exclaimed  the 
mother,  while  the  daughters  tittered  and  looked 
pleased. 

"  Why,"  put  in  the  midshipman,  "  have  you  never 
heard  about  his  Indian  wife  ?  You  know  he  has  a 
Shawnee  wife  and  six  children,  half  of  'em  red  and  half 
of  'em  white." 

"  And  the  other  half  red-and- white,"  added  Tom. 
"  It's  quite  a  remarkable  case." 

"  Oh,  the  beast  !  "  cried  the  British  matron.  "  Who'd 
ever  have  thought  it  ?  'E  said  'e  was  a  single  man." 

"  Those  Americans  are  all  that  way,  you  know," 
said  Tom.  "  They're  a  horrid  set.  Ouch  !  "  as  Teddy 
kicked  his  shins  under  the  table. 

Just  then  the  subject  of  the  conversation  appeared 
in  the  doorway,  and  made  signals  to  catch  Smith's  eye. 
The  portly  hen  and  her  three  chickens,  having  finished 
their  supper,  rose  and  swept  out  of  the  room  in  single 
file  past  Carm,  giving  him  as  wide  a  berth  as  the  door 
way  allowed.  He  bowed  pleasantly,  but  each  lady 
looked  at  the  ceiling  immediately  above  her. 

"  Some  people  'ad  better  go  back  to  their  Hindian 
wives,  and  their  six  children,"  observed  the  matron 
severely  to  the  ceiling. 

"  'Alf  of  'em  red,"  said  daughter  No.  i. 

"  Hand  'alf  of  'em  w'ite,"  said  daughter  No.  2. 

"  Hand  the  hother  'alf  red  and  w'ite,"  finished  the 
third,  with  biting  asperity. 

Carm  looked  after  them  blankly  a  moment,  then 
turned  to  the  convulsed  trio  with  a  sad,  reproachful 
expression. 

"  Well,  there  now,"  said  he,  "  ain't  that  unkind  ? 
Somethin'  or  other  seems  to  have  tickled  them  to  death. 
'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,  but  I  kind  o'  mistrust  somebody's  been 


At  the  Coaching  Inn.  213 

sayin'  things  about  me  that  ain't  in  the  Bible.  I 
wouldn't  ha'  thought  that  of  navy  officers.  There  goes 
all  my  chances  of  gittin'  married  this  year." 

"  Carm,  Carm,"  answered  Smith,  "  I  am  afraid  you 
have  fallen  pretty  far  to. leeward  of  Gospel  truth  your 
self,  as  usual  !  " 

"  Look  here,  Capting-of-the-Foretop  'Awkins,"  cried 
Teddy,  "why  didn't  you  tell  us  you  were  going  to 
stop  with  your  friend,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  ?  " 

"Ho — ho — ho — "  gasped  Tom.  "Can't  you  get  us 
an  invitation  from  his  Royal  Nibs,  too  ?  Much  obliged 
to  you  for  raising  my  family  to  the  peerage.  Oh,  I 
say,  Capting  'Awkins,  you  are  a  rum  one." 

Just  then  a  large,  red-faced  man  emerged  from  one 
of  the  stalls  close  by,  and  followed  by  two  others, 
walked  toward  the  door.  The  moment  Tom  saw  him 
he  jumped  to  his  feet  and  saluted.  The  stout  man 
acknowledged  the  salute,  and  then  stopping  suddenly 
in  front  of  Carm,  cried, 

"  Hullo,  Captain  Hawkins  !  Glad  to  see  you  looking 
so  well.  Don't  forget  you're  booked  to  me  after  you 
leave  Lord  Wycherleigh,"  and  he  left  the  room,  his 
back  shaking  violently. 

"  Who's  that  ?  "  exclaimed  Smith  and  Teddy  together. 

"Who's  that?1'  roared  Tom,  as  he  fell  back  in  his 
chair  and  kicked  his  legs  in  the  air.  "Why  that  is 
only  his  Royal  Highness,  William  Henry,  Duke  of 
Clarence,  Admiral  of  the  Fleet,  etcetera,  that's  all." 

Carrn  merely  turned  to  the  others  with  a  look  of 
offended  dignity. 

"  Maybe  some  folks  had  a  notion  that  I  was  a 

liar,"  he  remarked  carelessly. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OF    THE    NEIGHBORS    AND    INMATES    OF    WYCHERLEIGH 
HOUSE. 

IN  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  the  journey  by 
coach  ended  at  a  village  with  a  three-deck  name 
that  could  be  razeed  for  ordinary  conversation.  There 
the  travelers  were  met  by  a  vehicle  from  Wycherleigh 
House.  Tom  greeted  the  groom  enthusiastically,  and 
took  the  reins.  With  the  single  pair  of  horses  he  suc 
ceeded  in  holding  a  fairly  steady  course,  for  every  Eng 
lish  gentleman,  even  though  he  be  a  sailor,  can  drive 
well  enough  for  that.  His  spirits  mounted  higher 
and  higher  as  he  recognized  and  pointed  out  familiar 
objects  on  the  way.  Near  his  home,  however,  he  sud 
denly  changed  his  mood. 

"  That  is  the  park  gate  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,"  he 
said,  pointing  ahead,  "  but  if  you  don't  mind,  I  think 
I'll  stop  a  moment  just  this  side.  I  have  something  to 
do  that  is  going  to  be  pretty  hard,  and  I'd  rather  get  it 
done  and  over  before  we  make  merry  at  home." 

They  stopped  before  a  vine-covered  cottage  near  a 
church.  The  lawn  was  small,  but  an  English  lawn.  On 
either  side  of  the  path  from  the  gate  was  a  flowering 
shrub.  At  one  of  these  shrubs,  inspecting  the  flowers, 
stood  an  old  lady  dressed  in  black  with  a  white  shawl 
and  a  pretty  cap.  She  looked  up,  as  Tom,  having 
jumped  out  of  the  wagon,  came  through  the  gate. 
214 


Wycherleigh  House.  215 

Smith  and  Teddy  noticed  what  a  sweet  face  she  had, 
and  did  not  wonder  that  Tom  kissed  it,  as  he  took  both 
her  outstretched  hands. 

"  Seems  to  me  that  wasn't  such  a  very  hard  thing  to 
do,"  remarked  Smith  quietly  to  Teddy. 

"  I  should  think  not,"  assented  Teddy.  "  Oh,  Smith, 
won't  it  be  bully  to  get  home  ?  She  makes  me  think 
of  it.  I  wonder  how  they  all  are  ? " 

Then  the  two  looked  silently  at  the  picture,  while 
Tom  walked  toward  the  cottage  with  his  arm  around 
the  old  lady.  They  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  pocket 
handkerchief  as  the  pair  disappeared.  After  a  few 
minutes  Wycherleigh  reappeared,  and  took  his  seat 
again  in  the  wagon. 

"  There  !  thank  Heaven,  that's  over,"  he  said,  as  he 
whipped  up.  "  But,  after  all,  one  can  do  anything 
with  a  thoroughbred.  Do  you  remember  that  poor 
little  mid  of  whom  we  spoke  at  Valparaiso  ?  The  one 
whom  you  saw  on  the  Chesapeake  ?" 

"  Do  you  mean  that  that  was  his  mother  ?  "  exclaimed 
Smith.  "  No  wonder  you  dreaded  seeing  her." 

"  No,  not  his  mother,  but  about  the  same  thing,"  an 
swered  Tom.  "  She  was  all  the  mother  he  had,  and  he 
was  all  the  son  she  had.  She  was  his  grandmother, 
and  his  parents  were  both  dead.  Thank  Heaven  !  I 
didn't  have  to  break  the  news  to  her  ;  but  he  left  home 
in  my  charge,  so  I  rather  expected  her  to  break  down, 
or  something  of  that  sort,  you  know,  when  she  first  saw 
me,  even  if  she  didn't  hate  the  sight  of  me.  But,  by 
Jove  !  you  saw  how  she  received  me.  They're  just  the 
finest  that  ever  lived,  that  family,  and  they've  had 
dreadfully  hard  lines.  Most  of  their  bad  luck  seems  to 
come  from  me  and  mine,  too.  That  old  lady  is  the 
rector's  wife,  and  their  name  is  Gray.  Before  they 


216  Smith  Brunt. 

came  to  live  here,  years  ago,  my  eldest  brother  Arthur 
married  their  daughter,  and  he  and  his  wife  died,  both 
at  once,  under  very  painful  circumstances.  My  father 
has  never  really  been  quite  right  in  his  mind  since.  I 
have  been  meaning  to  tell  you  about  this,  because  if 
you  had  not  heard  of  it  you  might  think  the  old  gentle 
man  queer.  Very  likely,  he'll  ask  you  if  you  know 
Arthur,  or  have  any  news  of  him.  He  almost  always 
does  when  I  come  home  from  a  cruise,  and  often  mixes 
me  up  with  Arthur.  I  believe  old  people  often  do  that, 
anyway.  After  Arthur's  death  father  persuaded  the 
Grays  to  come  here  and  take  the  living  in  this  parish. 
They  had  a  son  in  the  navy.  He  was  killed  at  Trafal 
gar,  and  left  a  motherless  son  and  daughter  for  them 
to  take  care  of.  He  had  always  wanted  his  boy  to  go 
into  the  service,  too  ;  so,  as  soon  as  the  poor  little  chap 
was  old  enough,  they  let  him  go  off  with  me  in  the 
Shannon.  By  Jove  !  it's  hard,  you  know,  isn't  it  ? 
Splendid  little  fellow,  too.  Regular  brick."  Wycher- 
leigh  was  silent  a  moment,  and  cut  at  the  leaves  with 
his  whip  as  they  passed.  They  were  driving  through 
the  park  now. 

"  That's  an  old  last  year's  bird,"  he  exclaimed,  as  a 
pheasant  flushed  from  the  whip  lash.  "  I  wish  it  was 
the  season  now.  Wish  you'd  stay  here  till  the  shooting 
begins.  Their  whole  family  now,"  he  went  on  irrele 
vantly,  "  consists  of  the  grand-daughter.  You'll  see 
her  to-night,  for  Mrs.  Gray  said  she  had  gone  to  the 
house  to  dinner.  They're  expecting  us  to-night,  but 
they  think  we  won't  get  home  until  later.  There  you 
are  !  There's  home  !  " 

Tom  uttered  this  last  sentence  as  they  emerged  from 
the  woods.  At  the  end  of  the  beautiful  lawn  before 
them  rose  a  large  oblong  house,  that,  by  its  straight 


Wycherleigh  House.  217 

lines  and  plain,  untwisted  exterior,  gave  assurance  of 
comfortable  square  rooms  within, — the  sort  of  house 
that  is  built  to  be  lived  in  half  a  mile  from  the  public 
road,  not  to  be  looked  at  from  a  watering-place  parade. 

"  You  must  feel  like  a  lark,  Tom,"  said  Teddy.  "  I 
wish /could  sight  home  over  the  bow.  If  this  were 
only  Bayhampton,  now  !  " 

"That's  polite,  Ted,"  laughed  Smith. 

"  Never  you  mind,  Teddy,"  declared  Tom,  whose 
spirits,  somewhat  sunk  by  his  narrative,  had  risen  again 
at  sight  of  the  house.  "You  shall  have  such  fun  here 
that  you'll  never  want  to  go  back  to  the  States  at  all. 
We're  going  to  make  a  regular  good  Britisher  out  of 
you,  you  know." 

"  Huh,"  scornfully  grunted  Teddy,  whose  youthful 
patriotism  was  always  an  easy  mark  for  Tom  Wycher- 
leigh's  teasing.  "  You  wait  till  I  take  you  prisoner  ; 
then  I'll  show  you  my  house,  and  a  country  more'n  a 
million  times  as  big  as  this." 

Here  the  argument  ceased,  for  they  pulled  up  at  the 
door.  In  the  doorway  appeared  a  stout  butler,  whose 
solemn  face  broke  into  the  most  beaming  smiles  at 
Tom's  shout. 

"  Welcome,  welcome  home,  Mr.  Thomas.  We  didn't 
expect  you  so  early,  but  all  the  better,  for  we'll  have 
you  for  dinner,"  was  the  old  man's  somewhat  cannibal 
greeting.  "Your  room  is  all  ready,  sir,  and  so  are  the 
gentlemen's.  They  have  the  tower  room  and  the  one 
next  to  it.  Indeed,  you're  looking  fine  and  large.  The 
family  is  all  upstairs  dressing,  but  Sir  Richard  is  in  the 
library,  sir." 

"  Then  we'll  go  in  and  see  him  first,"  said  Tom  as 
they  entered  the  hall. 

"You'd   rather  see  him  alone  first,  wouldn't  you  ?" 


218  Smith   Brunt. 

suggested  Smith.  "We'll  wait  here  until  you  are  ready 
for  us." 

Tom  said  "all  right"  gratefully,  and  disappeared 
through  a  doorway,  leaving  Smith  and  Teddy  to  look 
at  the  pictures  and  stag  heads  in  the  hall.  After  a 
very  few  minutes  he  reappeared. 

"  He  has  grown  very,  very  old,  Smith,"  said  Tom 
with  a  sigh,  as  he  ushered  his  visitors  into  the  library. 
"  But  he  knew  me,  thank  goodness."  In  an  arm  chair 
by  the  open  window  reclined  an  old  man  with  a  great 
deal  of  very  white  hair.  With  his  head  bowed  forward 
on  his  chest,  he  was  looking  out  over  the  park.  He 
looked  at  Smith  rather  vacantly  and  bowed  slightly  as 
the  young  man  was  presented  to  him  ;  then  his  gaze 
passed  on  to  Teddy,  who  stood  behind  Smith.  At 
once  the  vacant  look  in  his  eyes  gave  place  to  one  of 
intense  eagerness  and  pleasure.  Half  rising  he  held 
out  a  trembling  hand  and  exclaimed, 

"  Why,  Artie  boy,  here  you  are  at  last  !  How  long 
you  have  been.  I  thought  vacation  would  never  come. 
The  terms  are  longer  at  Eton  now  than  in  my  day." 

As  may  be  supposed,  Teddy  found  this  peculiar 
greeting  somewhat  embarrassing,  but  he  stepped  up 
like  a  little  gentleman  and  put  his  hand  in  the  old 
palm. 

"  How  glad  I  am  to  see  you,  lad  !  But  I'm  growing 
old,  Artie  ;  I  can't  ride  with  you  any  more  now." 

"  He  takes  him  for  Arthur  home  from  school," 
whispered  Tom.  "  No  use  trying  to  explain  now." 
Then  he  interposed  aloud,  "  WV11  go  upstairs,  father, 
and  get  ready  for  dinner.  We  shall  be  down  again  in 
a  few  minutes." 

"  Very  well,  Tom.  Make  yourselves  comfortable. 
But  you're  home  for  a  good  long  holiday  now,  Artie, 


Wycherleigh  House.  219 

aren't  you  ?  You  won't  go  away  again  for  a  long 
time  ?" 

"We'll  come  back  directly,"  said  Tom.  Then  he 
piloted  his  guests  upstairs  to  their  rooms  and  there 
left  them  to  dress.  Immediately  afterward,  Smith  dis 
covered  that  he  had  Tom's  chest  instead  of  his  own. 
He  heard  his  host  in  the  hallway  pounding  on  a  door 
and  hailing  some  one.  So  he  stepped  out  in  the  corri 
dor  and  saw  Tom  saluting  heartily  a  bunch  of  curls 
that  protruded  from  a  door  near  by.  * 

"  Where's  Mary  ?  "  Tom  was  saying.  "  Mrs.  Gray 
said  she  was  here." 

"  Oh,  of  course  ;  *  where's  Mary,'  indeed  !  "  exclaimed 
the  owner  of  the  ringlets.  "  That's  the  first  thing  you 
have  to  say  to  your  sister,  when  you've  been  away  for 
two  years.  Well,  since  you  are  so  anxious  to  know,  I'll 
just  tell  you  that  Mary  is  here  in  this  room  this  minute, 
and  I  won't  let  her  out  either.  I'll  keep  her  in  here  to 
punish  you  for  your  impatience,  you  obstreperous 
sailor." 

"  Isn't  she  peevish,  Tom  ?  "  came  another  voice  from 
within  the  room,  and  a  small  hand  was  thrust  out  over 
the  curls.  The  said  hand  was  immediately  kissed  by 
Lieutenant  Wycherleigh,  whereupon  it  was  pulled  in 
with  a  shriek. 

"  Oh,  I  beg  pardon,"  said  Tom,  "  but  your  hands  got 
right  in  the  way  of  Edith's  face,  you  know." 

"You've  lost  none  of  your  impudence  in  the  South 
Seas,"  said  the  curly  head.  "  Hugh  said  you  were  going 
to  bring  two  visitors,  so  their  rooms  are  all  ready. 
Who  are  they  ?  " 

During  this  interview  Smith  had  been  standing  in 
sight  of  Tom,  but  invisible  from  the  door.  Tom  now 
winked  at  him  as  he  replied: 


220  Smith  Brunt. 

"  A  pair  of  eligible  noblemen, — the  Duke  of  Agua 
Diente,  a  Spanish  grandee  with  large  estates  in  South 
America,  and  Lord  Essex,  very  handsome  and  dis 
tinguished." 

"  Nonsense,"  exclaimed  the  curls,  "  Hugh  said  they 
were  American  prisoners,  and  I  think  that  is  highly 
exciting.  I've  been  hoping  they  have  war  paint  and 
feathers." 

"  Ho-ho-ho,"  laughed  Tom.  "  Smith  have  you  got 
your  war  trappings  ?  Miss  Wycherleigh  would  like  to 
have  you  put  'em  on  for  dinner." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  left  them  at  home  in  my  wigwam," 
answered  Smith.  "  I'm  sorry." 

A  frightened  "  Oh  !  "  followed  this  remark,  and  the 
door  was  slammed  as  suddenly  as  though  the  savage 
adornments  had  actually  appeared. 

"  Serves  you  jolly  well  right  for  not  letting  me  see 
Mary,"  shouted  Tom  through  the  door.  "  I  say  Brunt 
this  zV  better  than  Vauxhall,  isn't  it  ?"  he  added.  Smith 
apologized  for  his  intrusion  on  the  family  scene  and 
explained  his  trouble,  which  was  promptly  corrected. 

"I  hope  Tom's  father  isn't  going  to  keep  on  taking 
me  for  his  son,"  said  Teddy  when  he  and  Smith  were 
alone  in  their  connecting  rooms. 

"  It  isn't  altogether  comfortable,  Ted,  is  it  ?  "  re 
plied  Smith.  "  But  I  feel  very  sorry  for  him.  You 
heard  what  Tom  said  about  it.  You  must  say  nothing, 
and  even  humor  the  old  gentleman,  if  necessary. 
Perhaps  he  won't  do  it  again.  Now  hurry  up,  young 
ster  ;  they'll  be  piping  for  dinner  directly." 

Smith  had  but  one  suit  of  evening  mufti  which  was 
rather  out  of  fashion  and  had  not  been  out  of  his  sea- 
chest  for  months.  It  looked  very  well,  however,  for 
he  had  packed  it  himself.  Never  having  had  a  valet, 


Wycherleigh  House.  221 

he  knew  how  to  take  care  of  his  clothes,  and  was  al 
ways  scrupulously  clean  and  neat.  Teddy  had  only 
his  white  trousers  and  best  blue  jacket,  but  did  not 
mind  that,  for  he  was  still  young  enough  to  be  rather 
fond  of  wearing  his  uniform,  and  boylike  took  an  es 
pecial  pride  in  wearing  it  in  adversity.  On  the  whole 
they  were  a  very  presentable  pair,  as  they  went  down 
to  the  drawing  room. 

During  most  of  his  life  since  leaving  his  Long  Island 
home,  Smith  had  been  busy  aboard  ship,  and  had  en 
joyed  very  little  of  woman's  society.  For  obtaining 
that  advantage  his  opportunities  had  been  confined  to 
an  occasional  Naval  ball,  and  a  few  dinner  parties  in 
New  York.  Even  these  few  chances  he  had  not  im 
proved  very  diligently,  for  his  unrequited  devotion 
ever  since  the  age  of  sixteen  had  spoiled  for  him  most 
of  the  zest  of  such  amusements.  Moreover  he  had  not 
spoken  to  any  woman  for  over  a  year  past.  There  was 
nothing  of  the  woman-hater  about  him,  however,  for  he 
revered  the  sex  most  deeply,  though  from  a  respectful 
distance.  It  was  therefore  quite  natural,  that,  as  the 
young  sailor  approached  the  drawing  room,  he  felt  a 
certain  amount  of  trepidation  mixed  with  pleasurable 
curiosity,  a  feeling  incomprehensible  perhaps  to  men 
who  have  never  been  in  his  conditions. 

The  entrance  of  the  captive  visitors  was  made  very 
easy  for  them.  As  soon  as  they  appeared  in  the  door 
way,  a  little  lady  stepped  forward  and  held  out  her 
hand.  The  brown  curls  of  the  corridor  had  been 
gathered  in  a  fascinating  heap  over  an  exceedingly 
pretty  and  sparkling  face,  of  which  the  likeness  to 
Tom's  proclaimed  the  owner  to  be  Miss  Wycherleigh. 

"We  are  so  very  glad  to  have  you  here,  Mr.  Brunt, 
even  without  your  war  paint  and  feathers."  Whereat 


222  Smith   Brunt. 

Smith  laughed  and  the  ice  was  broken.  "  And  I  sup 
pose  this  is  Mr.  Lawrence,"  she  continued,  giving  that 
ancient  mariner  a  smile  that  put  him  in  love  with  her 
on  the  spot. 

"  It  was  very  good  indeed  of  Tom  to  bring  us  here," 
answered  Smith.  "This  is  certainly  a  most  delightful 
prison."  He  had  composed  that  while  dressing. 

"  Oh,  but  we  shall  take  very  good  care  that  you 
don't  escape.  From  what  Tom  tells  me  we  would 
much  rather  have  you  visit  us  than  fight  us.  Now 
don't  say  that  you  would  too,"  she  interrupted  with  a 
shake  of  the  curls  as  Smith  was  beginning  to  say  some 
thing  polite,  "  for  you  know  it  wouldn't  be  true." 

"  Well  no — not  quite — would  it  ?  That  is  not  under 
the  circumstances,"  stammered  honest  Smith  blushing 
a  little.  "  But  I — I  wish  ever  so  much  that  I  could 
change  the  circumstances,"  which  was  a  pretty  good 
attempt  for  him. 

"  You  got  out  of  that  very  well,"  laughed  the  hostess. 
"  Now,  let  me  present  you  both  to  Miss  Gray.  You 
see  I  am  the  only  lady  of  the  house  and  must  do  the 
honours."  She  turned  to  a  sofa,  where  Tom  Wycher- 
leigh  was  talking  to  a  graceful  golden-haired  girl  with 
blue  eyes. 

"  Mary,  here  are  my  guests,  whom  I  insulted  just 
now  upstairs." 

"  I  didn't  know  it,  I  assure  yon,"  said  Smith  who  was 
already  feeling  almost  entirely  at  ease.  The  five 
chatted  together  for  a  few  minutes.  Smith,  after  hear 
ing  the  name  of  Miss  Gray,  did  not  wonder  that  she 
looked  with  what  seemed  to  him  a  mournful  interest  at 
Teddy.  Edith  Wycherleigh  noticed  it  too,  and  took 
the  first  chance  to  draw  them  apart. 

"  You   have  already  seen  my  father,  I  believe,"  she 


Wycherleigh  House.  223 

said, ."but  you  have  not  met  my  brother  Hugh.  Here 
he  is  now." 

The  man  who  had  just  entered  the  room,  seemed  of 
about  forty-five  or  fifty  years  of  age.  In  his  features 
lay  a  certain  family  likeness  to  Tom  and  Miss  Wycher 
leigh,  but  in  his  features  only.  After  that,  all  re 
semblance  to  his  brother  and  sister  ceased  ;  in 
expression  and  manner,  he  was  exactly  their  opposite, 
and  seemed  the  more  unpleasant  from  the  contrast. 
Hardness  of  expression  is  often  mistaken  for  firmness, 
but  was  quite  distinct  in  Hugh  VSiycherleigh's  face.  It 
was  a  face  neither  weak  nor  coarse,  but  showing  alto 
gether  too  much  sensuality  to  be  called  firm, — the  face 
of  a  man  who  could  never  rule  himself,  but  who  might 
take  cities  by  the  dozen  and  also  put  every  man, 
woman  and  child  therein  to  the  sword  if  he  found  in 
habitants  inconvenient. 

Wycherleigh  nodded  indifferently  to  Smith,  and  then 
stared  past  him  at  Teddy.  Smith  was  beginning  to 
wonder  whether  this  man,  too,  had  recollections 
roused  by  Ted's  yellow  head,  when  his  own  glance  fell 
on  that  curly  occiput,  and  at  once  discovered  the  cause 
of  WTycherleigh's  attention.  The  young  gentleman 
was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  with  mouth  wide 
open  and  eyes  sticking  out  of  his  head,  staring  at  the 
doorway  as  though  he  saw  a  ghost.  And  no  wonder  ; 
for  there,  in  all  the  glory  of  her  wonderful  beauty, 
entered  Mrs.  Herbert  de  Voe,  and  her  husband  beside 
her. 

She  saw  Smith  at  the  same  instant  in  which  he  saw 
her.  He  had  the  advantage,  for  he  knew  at  least  of 
her  presence  in  England,  while  the  last  time  she  had 
seen  or  heard  of  this  man,  who  had  worshipped  her  for 
years,  was  when  two  years  before,  she  had  left  him 


224  Smith  Brunt. 

bound  and  bleeding  on  a  Long  Island  sand-hill. 
Under  the  circumstances  it  was  not  strange  that  she 
showed  considerable  embarrassment,  which  was  not 
completely  alleviated  by  Teddy  blurting  out,"  Why  Miss 
Temble,  I  thought  you  were  dead." 

"  Shut  up,  Ted,"  whispered  Smith  as  he  bowed  low  ; 
but  Herbert  de  Voe  stepped  forward  with  a  laugh  and 
said  : — 

"  Well  you  see,  Teddy,  she  is  quite  alive  ;  but  she  is 
not  Miss  Temble  now.  She  is  Mrs.  de  Voe.  How  are 
you,  Smith,  and  how  in  the  world  did  you  two  get 
here  ? " 

"  As  prisoners  of  war  on  parole,"  replied  Smith, 
adding  with  some  emphasis  "  the  only  way  we  could 
get  here  at  present/' 

"  Oh  really  ?  Too  bad/'  said  de  Voe  in  a  tone  that 
tested  Smith's  manners0  "  I  thought  you  might  have 
captured  the  British  Islands,  you  know,  and  taken  pos 
session  as  a  conquering  hero." 

"  We  are  glad  to  see  you  again  at  any  rate,  Mr. 
Brunt,"  said  Grace  de  Voe,  recovering  from  her  astonish 
ment.  "  But  I  am  very  sorry  for  you,  indeed." 

"  Thank  you/'  replied  Smith,  simply.  "  So  am  I. 
That  is,  I  mean,"  he  added,  stammering  a  little,  "  glad 
to  see  you  again,  but  sorry  to  have  been  captured." 

"  Now  explain  over  again  for  me,  if  you  please,  Mr. 
Brunt,"  said  Edith  Wycherleigh,  breaking  into  the 
conversation,  which  she  perceived  was  not  altogether 
a  comfortable  one.  "  I  am  your  jailer,  sir,  and  if  you 
are  the  least  bit  sullen  I  shall  put  you  on  bread  and 
water." 

Smith  looked  at  her  with  such  an  absurd  and 
appealing  look  of  perplexity,  that  they  all  burst  out 
laughing,  and  the  situation  was  relieved. 


Wycherleigh  House.  225 

"Well,  take  me  in  to  your  bread  and  water  now," 
commanded  Miss  Wycherleigh,  "  for  it  has  been  an 
nounced.  Hugh,  will  you  please  take  Mrs.  de  Voe  in  to 
dinner.  My  father  is  not  feeling  well  enough  to  come 
to  table  to-night,  Mrs.  de  Voe,  and  begs  you  to  excuse 
him." 

"  That's  good,"  thought  Teddy  and  wondering  much, 
but  duly  silent,  he  took  up  with  Tom  the  rear  of  the 
procession  to  the  dining  room,  de  Voe  taking  Miss 
Gray. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TEDDY    BECOMES    PROMINENT    AT    DINNER. 

DEFORE  the  fish  had  come  on  the  table  Smith  was 
*-~  feeling  marvelously  at  home,  and  chatting  aw-ay 
with  Edith  Wycherleigh  about  the  Navy,  and  his  home, 
and  the  manners  and  customs  of  his  country,  in  all  of 
which  the  little  lady  seemed  much  interested,  and 
about  which  she  kept  asking  all  sorts  of  questions. 
She  had  put  Teddy  on  her  other  side,  and  kept  him  also 
in  the  conversation.  The  middy  had  been  inclined  at 
first  to  ask  questions  of  Herbert  de  Voe  who  sat  next 
him  ;  but  Herbert  had  been  rather  short  with  the 
youngster,  and  devoted  himself  to  entertaining  Miss 
Gray  on  his  other  side.  Teddy,  however,  was  quite 
content  to  listen  to  his  hostess  and  Smith,  and  loved 
the  former  more  and  more  each  time  she  asked  him  a 
question.  Among  all  her  interrogatories,  Edith  Wy 
cherleigh  never  touched  on  the  subject  of  either  of 
Smith's  defeats,  until  he  himself  spoke  of  his  first  un 
conscious  meeting  with  Tom  and  of  the  latter's  thought 
ful  preservation  of  the  locket. 

"  I'll  show  it  to  you,"  volunteered  Teddy,  delighted 
to  have  something  so  interesting  about  him,  and  also 
at  the  opportunity  of  displaying  the  gold  watch  and 
fob-chain  given  to  him  by  Mr  Lawrence  when  he  left 
home  ;  for  to  the  chain  he  had  attached  the  locket. 
"  It  belonged  to  poor  old  Ben  and  that's  why  I  have  it. 
I  don't  know  whose  picture  it  is,  but  she  is  very  pretty 
and  I  like  it  on  account  of  him." 
.226 


At  Dinner.  227 

"And   who  was    £>en?"    asked    Edith    Wycherleigh, 

opening  the  locket  which  Teddy  handed  to  her,  de 
tached  from  the  chain.  "  Oh  she  is  pretty,  isn't  she  ? 
Perfectly  lovely." 

"  Ben  Orrin,"  answered  Teddy.  "  He  was  the  finest 
sailor  man  that  ever  lived  and  he  was  my  nurse." 

"  No  wonder  you  took  to  the  sea  then,"  laughed 
Mrss  Wycherleigh. 

"  Teddy  is  speaking  of  the  old  seaman  from  whose 
neck  Tom  took  the  locket/'  explained  Smith,  and  he 
related  as  much  of  Ben's  history  and  connection  with 
the  Lawrence  family  as  he  thought  fit.  Teddy  had 
never  been  curious  about  his  own  origin  :  he  preferred 
to  consider  himself  the  Squire's  own  son,  and  had 
always  fought  at  the  word  "  castaway,"  when  so  called 
by  his  playmates  in  Bayhampton  after  the  manner  of 
small  boys. 

"Isn't  that  touching?"  said  Miss  Wycherleigh  on 
hearing  about  Orrin,  and  gazing  at  the  miniature.  "  I 
feel  sure  there  must  be  some  romance  about  this." 

"  Let  me  see  it,  Edith,"  said  Tom  leaning  across 
Smith.  "  I  have  never  seen  the  inside  of  it."  Tom  sat 
between  Smith  and  Grace  de  Voe,  and  after  admiring 
the  miniature  tor  a  moment,  showed  it  to  Grace. 
Hugh  Wycherleigh,  not  having  heard  the  conversation 
at  the  other  end  of  the  table,  asked  what  she  was  ex 
amining.  She  handed  the  Iccket  to  him  ;  and  next 
moment  uttered  an  exclamation  of  alarm.  Wycher- 
leigh's  eyes  were  staring  wildly  at  the  miniature,  his 
jaw  had  dropped,  and  his  face  was  deathly  pale.  Only 
for  a  second,  however  ;  then  his  mouth  shut  tight,  and 
the  blood  rushed  back  to  his  face  swelling  every  vein, 
as  though  to  bursting.  He  put  one  hand  to  his  breast, 
with  the  other  pushed  back  his  chair,  and  stooping 


228  Smith  Brunt. 

over,  gasped  and  coughed  violently.  After  a  few 
moments  he  recovered  himself,  and  apologized,  ex 
plaining  with  a  laugh  that  he  had  swallowed  a  piece  of 
bread  the  wrong  way. 

"  I  dropped  the  locket,  didn't  I  ?  I  beg  your  pardon, 
Mrs.  de  Voe.  Is  it  yours  or  Tom's  ? "  he  said,  and 
stooping  again,  he  picked  up  the  locket  from  the  floor, 
and  handed  it  back  to  Grace.  "  Very  pretty,  indeed. 
Who  is  it  ?  "  he  continued.  "  Oh,  see  here  !  was  that 
done  before,  or  could  I  have  stepped  on  it  in  that 
wretched  spasm  ?  I  hope  I  didn't  do  that." 

The  gold  case  was  dented  and  the  miniature  cracked 
across  the  face. 

"  It  is  not  mine,"  answered  Grace  and  then  to  Tom, 
"  is  it  yours,  Mr.  Wycherleigh  ?  " 

"  No,  it's  Teddy's,"  replied  Tom.  "By  Jove,  Hugh, 
I'm  afraid  you  did  stamp  on  it.  It  was  not  that  way 
before.  Here,  Smith,  pass  this  back  to  Ted.  That's 
too  bad.  I  hope  it  can  be  mended." 

"  Why,  it's  broken  !  "  exclaimed  Teddy,  ruefully,  and 
then  seeing  the  distress  of  Tom  and  Edith  Wycher 
leigh,  tried  to  pretend  that  he  did  not  care. 

"Is  that  locket  yours,  my  little  man?"  inquired 
Hugh  Wycherleigh  from  the  other  end  of  the  table. 
"  I  am  very  sorry  if  it  was  I  who  broke  it.  You  must 
let  me  take  it  and  have  it  mended  for  you." 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  replied  Teddy,  "  but  please 
don't  trouble  about  it.  I  can  have  it  mended,  I'm 
sure."  Which  politeness  he  afterwards  paraphrased  to 
Smith  as,  "  No  siree,  that  locket  doesn't  go  out  of  my 
hands  again.  The  clumsy  lubber." 

When  the  men  were  left  over  the  wine,  Hugh  Wycher 
leigh  apologized  again  to  Teddy,  and  learned  from  him 
the  story  of  the  locket  so -far  as  Teddy  knew  it.  Tom, 


At  Dinner.  229 

notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  had  been  sitting  next 
to  the  radiant  Mrs.  de  Voe  whom  he  had  so  admired  at 
Vauxhall,  had  nevertheless  been  ill  content  with  the 
intervention  of  the  table  between  himself  and  Miss 
Gray  all  through  dinner  and  soon  proposed  joining  the 
ladies.  The  two  other  sailors  went  with  him,  for  they 
found  the  society  of  Herbert  de  Voe  anything  but 
agreeable.  As  soon  as  they  had  gone,  de  Voe  said 
abruptly, 

"  Did  you  find  anything  here  from  the  Admiralty?" 

"No,"  replied  Hugh  Wycherleigh,  "and  I  doubt  if  I 
can  get  you  a  letter-of-marque  now.  Even  if  I  can,  it 
will  hardly  pay  you.  We  are  at  peace  with  France 
now,  and  by  this  time  your  own  countrymen  are  all 
shut  up  in  port,  I  fancy,  even  should  you  care  to  trans 
act  business  with  them." 

"  Oh,  I  have  no  scruples  about  that  I  assure  you,"  re 
plied  de  Voe.  "  My  compatriots  are  all  engaged  in  rob 
bing  each  other,  and  there's  no  reason  why  I  shouldn't 
take  a  hand  in  the  game.  It  is  what  they  would  call  a 
purely  business  enterprise,  you  know." 

"  I  think  the  other  thing  would  pay  very  much  bet 
ter,"  answered  Wycherleigh. 

"  No  doubt  of  that ;  but  I  don't  like  the  prospect  of 
a  year's  absence  in  the  first  place,  and  in  the  second 
place,  as  I've  said  before,  I  won't  undertake  it  unless  I 
have  a  good  round  sum  paid  down  in  advance." 

"  How  much  do  you  want  ? " 

"  Two  thousand  pounds,  at  least,"  answered  Herbert. 

"  Two  thousand  pounds  is  a  good  deal  of  money," 
remarked  the  other,  sipping  his  wine,  "  but  I'll  see 
what  the  company  will  do  for  you." 

"You  had  better  stir  up  the  *  company*  pretty  soon, 
then,"  remarked  de  Voe.  "  I  can't  keep  my  men  hang- 


230  Smith   Brunt. 

ing  round  in  port  on  nothing.  They're  getting  sour 
now,  and  the  crimps  are  after  them  thick  as  flies. 
They  have  hard  work  to  keep  out  of  the  hands  of  those 
d man-o'-warsmen,  too." 

"  I  think  you  will  have  to  come  down  in  your  figure," 
said  the  other,  "but  I'll  do  my  best  for  you.  The 
sooner  you  get  off  the  better  I  shall  be  pleased." 

De  Voe  looked  into  his  wine  glass,  and  pressed  his 
lips  together  slightly. 

"  You  seem  to  know  these  two  young  Yankees  that 
Tom  has  picked  up,"  said  Wycherleigh,  changing  the 
subject,  which  was  apparently  irksome  to  him. 

"  An  acquaintance  which  that  young  brat  renewed 
rather  abruptly,"  replied  Herbert. 

"  Who  is  he  ?  Do  you  know  his  people  ? "  asked  the 
other. 

"  Rather,"  answered  de  Voe,  with  emphasis,  "  or, 
perhaps,  I  ought  to  say  his  reputed  family,  who,  I  regret 
to  say,  are  my  own  relatives.  He  was  adopted  by  a 
rich  and  childless  uncle  of  mine,  so,  you  see,  I  have  a 
very  warm  cousinly  affection  for  him." 

"  Quite  so,"  remarked  Wycherleigh,  dryly.  "  And 
how  did  the  happy  world  acquire  him  ?  Uncle  know 
anything  about  that  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  de  Voe,  carelessly.  "  Nobody 
does,  so  far  as  I  have  ever  heard.  He  was  washed  up 
on  the  beach  near  my  uncle's  house,  along  with  that 
worthy  mariner  he  mentioned.  The  sailor  always  made 
a  mystery  of  the  young  one,  I  believe." 

"  Such  mysteries  are  not  uncommon  phenomena," 
grunted  Wycherleigh.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  this 
shipwrecked  seaman  actually  unloaded  his  cub  on  your 
uncle  ?  " 

"That's    all   very   simple,"    drawled  de  Voe  a  little 


At  Dinner.  231 

sneeringly,  "  but  the  man  was  wrecked  from  a  frigate. 
If  you  will  consider  a  moment,  you  will  agree,  I  think, 
that  men-of-warsmen  don't  take  their  three-year-old 
offspring  to  sea  with  them.  At  least  not  in  our  ser 
vice  ;  do  they  in  yours  ? " 

Wycherleigh  had  a  little  trouble  in  getting  the 
stopper  out  of  a  decanter. 

"  I  should  think  most  of  our  crews  were  of  just 
about  that  age,  judging  from  the  way  our  ships  are 
handled  nowadays,"  he  said,  filling  his  glass.  "That 
cursed  Yankee  cruiser  that  took  the  Reindeer  is  doing 
what  she  pleases  apparently  all  around  this  coast.  She 
has  put  Lloyds  in  a  deuce  of  a  funk,  they  tell  me,  so 
that  the  peace  with  France  does  us  very  little  good." 

"So  I  have  heard,"  observed  Herbert.  "But  to 
come  back  to  the  subject.  It  is  rather  strange,  is  it 
not,  that  the  sea  monster  should  have  owned  such  a 
pretty  trinket  as  that  locket,  which  you  cracked  ?  I 
have  an  idea  that  if  the  lady  in  it  could  only  speak,  she 
might  explain  a  great  deal  about  this  dear  little  reefer 
— that  is,  if  she  would." 

"  Perhaps  so.  I  wonder  you've  not  looked  up  his 
history  before  this,  and  put  it  in  the  proper  light  to 
your  good  uncle.  Were  there  no  other  survivors  of  the 
wreck  who  could  furnish  you  with  information  ?" 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  my  uncle  was  never  sufficiently 
fond  of  me  to  make  it  worth  while  to  set  him  straight. 
Perhaps  your  suggestion  is  a  good  one,  however.  When 
I  have  nothing  else  to  do  I  will  look  into  the  matter." 

"I  would  advise  you  to  do  so  by  all  means,"  said 
Wycherleigh  ;  "  but,  in  the  meantime,  as  the  romance 
does  not  concern  me,  let  us  join  the  ladies." 

While  the  foregoing  conversation  had  been  going  on 
in  the  dining-room,  the  three  sailors  were  employed, 


232  Smith   Brunt. 

each  much  to  his  satisfation.  On  entering  the  drawing- 
room,  Tom  had  headed  straight  for  Mary  Gray.  Miss 
Wycherleigh  looking  up  cried  : 

"  I  can  beat  any  American  at  checkers." 

"I  am  afraid  I  could  not  disprove  that  proud  boast," 
laughed  Smith,  but  Teddy  took  up  the  challenge  like  a 
man. 

"I'd  like  to  try,"  he  pleaded. 

"  Very  well,  get  the  board  then,  Mr.  Lawrence.  It 
is  there  on  that  table,"  answered  Miss  Wycherleigh. 

Smith  thought  how  luckily  they  were  all  arranged. 
On  the  way  from  the  dining-room  he  had  cautioned 
Teddy  not  to  ask  questions  of  the  de  Voes  ;  but  was 
still  afraid  of  the  boy's  curiosity,  and  also  anxious  to 
speak  with  Grace  alone.  Now  at  once  he  had  an 
opportunity  to  do  so,  and  Teddy's  tongue  was  safe  un 
der  guard  ;  all  of  which  was,  of  course,  pure  luck. 

"  Don't  you  think  it  is  very  warm  here,  Mr.  Brunt?" 
asked  Grace.  "  Suppose  we  go  outdoors." 

Followed  thankfully  by  Smith,  she  stepped  out  on 
the  terrace,  and  the  moment  they  were  alone  turned 
and  asked  with  sudden  earnestness. 

"  How  is  my  father  ? " 

"  It  is  a  year  since  I  have  seen  him,"  replied  Smith. 
"  He  seemed  well  then,  though  he  has  aged  a  great 
deal." 

"  Does  he — does  he  think "she  hesitated  a  mo 
ment. 

"  No,"  interposed  Smith  promptly.  "  He  thinks  that 
you  are  alive,  though  I  believe  I  am  the  only  person 
who  knows  that  he  thinks  so.  He  has  never' said  so, 
even  to  me,  but  I  feel  sure  that  he  is  not  deceived." 

"  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  he  were.  Why  don't 
you  say  so  ?  " 


At  Dinner.  233 

She  said  this  not  defiantly,  but  with  a  sadness  that 
had  never  been  in  Grace  Temble's  voice  and  that  cut 
deep  into  Smith's  heart. 

"  Because  I  do  not  think  so,"  he  answered  very 

quietly.  "  But  oh,  Miss  Te Mrs.  de  Voe  if  you 

would  only  send  him  a  message  it  would  bring  back 
years  of  life  to  him." 

"Will  you  take  it  ?" 

"  Of  course  I  will,  with  all  my  heart." 

"  Then  you  shall.  It  was  a  thoughtless,  cruel  trick 
and  I  repent  it  bitterly — not  the  following  my  husband, 
but  the  way  in  which  I  did  it.  Tell  him  that.  And 
tell  him  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you,  too,  for  it  is  what 
you  want  him  to  know,  and  it  is  the  truth.  Of  course 
you  have  not  asked  ;  but  you  have  a  right  to,  for  you 
nearly  sacrificed  your  life  on  account  of  my  folly.  Be 
sides,  you  used  to  like  me  once  ;  you  thought  you 
loved  me,  and  I  don't  want  you  to  despise  me  now.  I 
am  married.  I  was  married  that  night  on  the  Dart. 
Herbert  had  a  clergyman  on  board.  He  had  meant  to 
take  him  back  to  New  York,  but  after  the  discovery  he 
was  afraid  to  and  came  straight  to  this  country.  He 
said  this  was  the  safest  place  to  be,  and  would  not  stop 
even  to  put  the  clergyman  ashore.  I  do  not  know  who 
the  clergyman  was,  except  that  his  name  was  Jackson, 
or  where  he  can  be  found  now.  We  were  married 
again  in  church,  in  Portsmouth,  St.  Andrew's  Church. 
My  father  can  send  there  for  the  record  if  he  wishes. 
The  war  has  kept  me  from  sending  any  message. 
Girlish  and  silly  as  I  was,  I  would  surely  have  hesitated 
had  I  known  that  I  could  not  communicate  with  my 
father  for  so  long.  I  wish  I — we  could  go — see  him 
again." 

"  You  could  do  so,  I  think,"  suggested  Smith  a  little 


234  Smith   Brunt. 

cautiously,  for  he  felt  the  delicacy  of  his  position. 
"You  could  go  on  some  cartel  from  here,  or  you  could 
certainly  go  to  Canada  and  get  home  from  there,  under 
a  flag  of  truce." 

"  He  might  refuse  to  see  me — us.  What  right  have  I 
to  expect  otherwise  ?  " 

"I  feel  very  sure  he  will  not,"  pleaded  Smith  ear 
nestly.  "Will  you  allow  me  to  ask  him,  and  to  tell  him 
that  you  want  to  hear  from  him  ?  I  know  it  is  all  none 
of  my  business,  Mrs.  de  Voe,1'  he  added,  "  but  if  you 
could  see  your  father,  I  am  sure  you  would  forgive  my 
officiousness." 

"There  is  nothing  for  me  to  forgive,"  said  Grace. 
"  Please  say  to  him  whatever  you  can  for  me,  and  beg 
him  to  forgive  me  and  my  husband.  Will  you  do  this 
for  me,  and  will  you  try  to  let  me  know  what  he  says  ? 
I  do  not  know  how  you  can  find  me,  but  there  will  be 
some  way.  I  cannot  give  you  any  address  now.  I 
will  do  so  when  I  can.  I  have  no  right  to  ask  you  to 
do  anything  for  me,  and  it  is  I  who  should  apologize." 

"  You  do  me  a  favor  in  asking,"  said  Smith.  "  Really 
you  do.  I  will  do  anything  for  you  that  I  can." 

"  Still  ?  "  she  asked  looking  at  him  with  a  curious 
smile,  half  playful,  half  sad. 

"Always,  Mrs.  de  Voe,"  answered  Smith  simply,  in  a 
tone  without  the  least  touch  of  either  emotion  or  mere 
polite  insincerity.  "  You  have  never  been  anything  but 
kind  and  patient  to  me,  and  often  I  must  have  wearied 
you  very  much." 

Grace  looked  at  him  a  moment  and  put  out  her  hand 
which  Smith  took  gently  and  reverently.  "  Thank 
you,"  she  said,  "  I  have  not  been  annoyed  in  exactly 
that  way  by  the  men  whom  I  have  met  recently. 
Come,  let  us  go  in  the  house  now.'' 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

A  WALK  AND  A  SWIM. 

•*  A17HAT  would  you  like  to  do  this  uncommon 
"  '  glorious  morning  ?  "  asked  Tom  Wycherleigh 
at  breakfast.  "If  it  were  only  a  month  later,  we 
shouldn't  have  to  ask  that  question.  But  there  is 
nothing  to  kill  now,  except  fish.  We  might  try  them." 

"  What  a  beast  of  prey  you  are,  Tom,"  said  Miss 
Wycherleigh.  "  Do  men  in  America  like  such  brutal 
amusements,  Mr.  Brunt  ?" 

"  Pooh  !  "  broke  in  Tom.  "  He  has  shot  more  birds 
than  ever  I  have.  Gunning,  he  calls  it  ;  and  he  loves 
it,  don't  you  Brunt?" 

"  I  am  perfectly  content  without  it,"  answered  Smith 
laughing.  "  Besides,  I  don't  call  it  gunning  when  I'm 
speaking  English.  That  is  Long  Islandish,  my  native 
tongue." 

"  Why  don't  you  go  bathing  ? "  suggested  Hugh 
Wycherleigh. 

Tom  and  his  guests  at  once  fell  in  with  this  idea  ; 
but  Edith  Wycherleigh  announced  that  she  was  going 
to  walk  to  the  village,  and  commanded  Smith  to  ac 
company  her. 

"  Suppose  he  doesn't  want  to  ?  "  objected  Tom. 

"  I  don't  care  whether  he  wants  to  or  not,"  declared 
Edith.  "  I'm  not  his  hostess  ;  I  am  his  guard,  and 
give  him  no  choice.  You  can't  have  both  the  prisoners 
to  yourself.  Mind,  sir,"  she  continued  to  Smith,  "  that 
you  are  ready  to  go  with  me  in  an  hour." 

235 


236  Smith   Brunt. 

"All  right,  Ted,"  said  Tom.  "You  and  I  will  go 
bathing  anyway,  and  let  Smith  tag  around  with  the  girls." 

Teddy  would  have  liked  to  change  places  with  Smith, 
but  contented  his  Long  Island  soul  with  the  prospect 
of  getting  into  salt  water  again,  which  he  had  not  done 
for  six  months.  By  the  time  they  had  made  the  usual 
visitors'  tour  of  the  stables,  and  inspected  all  the  horses 
and  dogs  (in  which  naval  officers  are  almost  always 
deeply  interested)  Miss  Wycherleigh  was  ready  to 
start.  As  they  were  to  take  the  same  path  for  some 
distance,  all  four  started  out  together,  Tom  and  Teddy 
brandishing  their  towels  and  all  in  high  spirits.  Grace 
de  Voe  had  preferred  to  remain  at  the  house  to  finish 
an  interesting  book,  and  Herbert  and  Hugh  Wycher 
leigh  had  both  disappeared,  probably  to  view  the  place. 
The  path  led  through  the  park,  along  a  pret'ty  stream 
to  a  pond  which  could  be  seen  ahead  among  the  oaks. 
Just  before  reaching  this  pond,  Tom  and  Teddy  turned 
aside  toward  the  seashore. 

"  You  don't  like  that  man  de  Voe,"  said  Edith  Wy 
cherleigh  suddenly,  when  she  and  Smith  were  alone. 

"No  I  don't,  to  tell  you  the  truth,"  answered  Smith 
honestly,  "  but  I  had  hoped  I  didn't  show  it." 

"  Oh,  well,"  laughed  the  girl,  "  perhaps,  like  you 
Americans,  I  am  a  good  guesser.  That  is  why  I  have 
dragged  you  off  to  the  village  with  me.  I  thought  de 
Voe  might  join  the  bathing  party,  and  I  had  an  idea 
that  you  were  not  anxious  for  his  company.  I  trust  I 
have  not  spoiled  your  morning,  Mr.  Brunt."  A  tell  tale 
dimple  near  her  mouth  disclosed  the  insincerity  of  the 
implied  remorse. 

"  Of  course  not.  Really  I  didn't  care  particularly  to 
go  swimming  anyway,"  answered  simple  Smith,  think 
ing  that  was  about  the  right  thing  to  say. 


A  Walk  and  a  Swim.  237 

"  Oh,  indeed,  so  you  came  with  me  because  you  had 
nothing  more  amusing  to  do  ? "  replied  the  little  lady 
with  a  pout  unsupported  by  her  eyes,  while  the  dimple 
deepened  perceptibly. 

"Why — why,  no — not  that,"  stammered  Smith  red 
dening.  "  That  is — I  mean — really  I  would  a  great  deal 
rather  go  with  you.  Why  I  couldn't  find  anything  more 
amusing,  could  I  ?  "  This  happy  thought  came  out  in  a 
burst  of  relief  that  set  his  tormentor  laughing  outright. 

"  Yes,  that  is  the  right  answer,"  she  said.  "  You  are 
improving  very  fast.  I  shall  teach  you  a  great  deal 
before  you  leave  that  you  can't  learn  aboard  ship." 

"  I  sincerely  wish  you  would,"  replied  Smith  seriously. 

"If  you  stay  long  enough  you  shall  become  as  pol 
ished  a  liar  as  any  in  London,"  she  declared. 

"  I  believe  you  are  joking  now,  Miss  Wycherleigh, 
though  I  can  never  be  sure  whether  you  are  or  not," 
answered  the  perplexed  sailor.  "  But  I  have  seen  so 
little  of  women  that  I  must  be  a  good  deal  of  a  boor,  I 
know." 

"Oh,  a  terrible  savage,"  she  replied,  shaking  her 
head.  "  Still,  I  suspect  that  in  the  wigwam  where  you 
were  brought  up,  there  must  have  been  somebody  with 
ideas  of  civilization." 

"  Only  my  father,"  said  Smith,  "but  I'm  very  proud 
of  him.  You  would  not  think  him  a  savage,  I  am  sure. 
Then  Teddy's  mother,  Mrs.  Lawrence,  has  always  been 
a  sort  of  mother,  or  at  least  as  much  as  an  aunt  to  me, 
and  she  is  just  as  sweet  as  she  can  be.  But  I  have 
known  hardly  any  younger  women." 

"  You  have  known  Mrs.  de  Voe,  a  long  time,  have 
you  not  ?  How  very  handsome  she  is  !  She  is  better 
than  her  husband.  But  I  don't  think  I  like  her  very 
much." 


238  Smith  Brunt. 

"  You  would  if  you  knew  her  better,  Miss  Wycher- 
leigh,"  replied  the  loyal  knight.  "  She  is  certainly  the 
most  beautiful  woman  I  ever  saw." 

"  Present  company  excepted,  you  should  say,"  cried 
his  instructress,  with  a  toss  of  the  curls  and  mischiev 
ous  flash  of  the  dimple.  "  Unless,  of  course,  your 
conscience  forbids  you." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Miss  Wycherleigh,"  pleaded 
Smith  in  ludicrous  consternation.  "  Please,  what  ought 
I  to  say  now  ? " 

The  dimple  expanded  in  a  ripple  of  laughter.  "  No, 
I'll  let  you  off  from  that  lesson,"  she  said.  "That  is 
too  hard  for  a  beginner." 

Just  then  they  came  to  the  high  bank  of  the  pond. 
Close  below,  a  man  was  sitting  with  his  back  toward 
them,  at  the  edge  of  the  water,  busily  engaged  with  a 
line. 

"  I  wonder  who  that  is  !  "  exclaimed  Edith  Wycher 
leigh,  stopping  short.  "  Why,  I  declare  he  is  fishing  ! 
Quick,  Mr.  Brunt,  tell  the  poor  fellow  to  go  away  be 
fore  the  keepers  find  him." 

But  before  Smith  could  obey  they  heard  a  voice  call, 
"  You  there  !  What  are  you  doing  ?  " 

From  among  the  trees  on  the  other  side  of  the 
poacher  appeared  Hugh  Wycherleigh.  At  the  hail, 
the  angler  raised  his  head,  and  answered  pleasantly, 

"Tryin"  a  kind  of  a  jury  rig."  Just  then  he  got  a 
bite,  and  springing  to  his  feet,  cleverly  landed  a  trout 
high  and  dry  on  the  bank.  "  Come  pretty  near  gettin' 
that  feller,  didn't  I?"  said  he,  as  he  disengaged  the 
hook.  "  Pretty  good  for  a  bent  pin,  eh  ? " 

"  Do  you  mean   to  say  you  are  fishing  in  broad  day 
light,  right  before  my  eyes,"  gasped  Wycherleigh. 
"  Well  now,  Cap,  what's  your  guess? "  asked  the  other, 


A  Walk  and  a  Swim.  239 

looking  up  in  unfeigned  astonishment.  "  I  kind  o' 
thought  I  was  doin' just  about  that.  But  don't  let  me 
persuade  you  against  your  convictions.  Maybe  I'm 
dancin'  the  minuet  by  moonlight." 

"  What's  your  name  ? "  roared  Wycherleigh. 

"  Yours    truly,    Carman  Hawkins.     What's  yours  ?  " 

"  You  impudent  rascal,  are  you  drunk  or  crazy  ?  " 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno.  I  guess  one  or  the  other  of  us 
must  be  drunk  or  sumpthin'  ;  and  I  know  it  ain't  me, 
'cause  I  ain't  had  no  such  luck  lately.  How  have  you 
been  makin'  out  yourself,  Cap  ? " 

Smith  thought  it  high  time  to  interfere,  and  bounded 
down  the  bank,  followed  by  Edith  Wycherleigh  who 
was  shaking  with  laughter.  With  great  difficulty  they 
persuaded  Hugh  Wycherleigh,  not  to  have  Carman 
haled  to  prison  at  once,  and  with  almost  equal  diffi 
culty,  made  the  surprised  and  disgusted  Yankee  throw 
back  into  the  pond  the  fish  that  he  had  inveigled  onto 
a  bent  pin  after  half  an  hour's  patient  work.  Smith 
apologized  profusely,  and  explained  Carm's  identity 
and  his  ignorance  of  English  law  and  customs,  while 
Miss  Wycherleigh  pooh-poohed  her  brother's  threats, 
and  laughed  him  into  sullen  moderation. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  bring  your  sporting  friend 
along  with  us,"  she  said,  after  Hugh  had  departed 
grumbling,  "  so  that  we  can  keep  him  out  of  jail." 

Carm  went  with  them  gladly,  giving  his  views  of 
English  life  as  he  had  so  far  found  it,  to  Miss  Wycher- 
leigh's  keen  amusement.  He  had  been  spending  the 
morning  in  rambling  about  the  park  and  the  neighbor 
ing  village. 

"  It  don't  seem  such  a  great  ways  from  home 
neither,"  he  remarked.  "  The  biggest  town  hereabouts 
is  called  Southampton.  Tell  you  another  funny  thing 


240  Smith   Brunt. 

I  found  out.  Would  you  believe  it  now,  every  other 
man  in  this  place  is  named  Hawkins  and  those  in  be 
tween  is  generally  named  Smith.  That's  a  fact." 

"  That  is  very  nearly  true,"  laughed  Miss  Wycher- 
leigh.  "  But  why  does  that  interest  you  particularly  ?  " 

"  Why  my  name  is  Hawkins,"  said  Carm,  "  and 
there's  a  good  many  more  where  I  come  from,  and 
Smiths  too.  Seems  to  me  we've  come  a  good  way  to 
find  relatives.  'Y  Guy,  I  believe  Long  Island  has  gone 
adrift  while  we've  been  away,  and  got  stranded  some- 
wheres  on  this  coast.  I'm  going  to  look  along  shore. 
Maybe  I  can  find  some  pieces  of  Bayhampton." 

"  Perhaps  it  worked  the  other  way,"  suggested 
Smith.  "  Some  of  the  South  of  England  may  have 
moved  across  to  Long  Island  once  upon  a  time." 

"  Well  then  a  lot  of  the  Hawkins  and  Smith  families 
overslept  'emselves  that  morning,"  observed  Carm. 

On  the  road  to  the  village,  Smith  noticed  how  every 
one  whom  they  met  bowed  and  smiled  to  Edith  Wy- 
cherleigh,  and  how  with  almost  every  one  she  had 
something  pleasant  to  say.  One'  person  however  she 
scolded.  That  was.  an  individual  of  about  three  years 
of  age,  engaged  in  constructing  mud  pies  in  the  road, 
who  was  nearly  run  over  in  the  press  of  his  business. 

"  Tommy,  you  naughty  boy  !  "  she  cried.  "  What  are 
you  doing  out  here  ?  "  Taking  the  abashed  architect 
by  his  muddy  little  paw,  she  led  him  to  a  house  in  the 
village,  and  turned  him  over  to  the  parental  court  with 
a  recommendation  to  mercy.  After  this,  Miss  Wycher- 
leigh  entered  a  small  cottage  fronting  on  the  main 
street,  and  asked  Smith  to  wait  for  her  outside,  as  she 
had  to  see  an  old  invalid  woman  for  a  few  minutes 

While  waiting,  the  two  Americans  heard  the  sound 
of  a  fife  and  drum,  and,  looking  up  the  street,  saw  a 


A  Walk  and  a  Swim.  241 

scarlet  line  approaching.  Just  then  the  door  of  the 
next  cottage  opened,  and  there  appeared  a  tall  young 
man  in  soldier  clothes.  He  carried  his  musket  in  the 
hollow  of  one  arm  and  with  the  other  pressed  to  him  a 
girl,  who  was  sobbing  on  his  shoulder.  Pausing  a 
moment,  unconscious  of  observation,  he  raised  the 
nose  strap  of  his  shako,  and  kissed  the  girl's  forehead. 
Then  throwing  his  musket  over  his  shoulder,  he  strode 
down  the  path  to  the  street  and  fell  into  the  ranks  of 
the  approaching  company.  They  passed  to  the  old,  old 
tune  of  "  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me,"  and  Smith  saw 
the  handsome  young  soldierman  wave  his  hand  back 
towards  the  cottage.  Then  the  young  woman  covered 
her  face  with  her  apron  and  went  back  into  the  house. 

"Who  was  that  soldier  with  Annie  Hawkins?" 
asked  Edith  Wycherleigh  of  an  old  man,  who  had 
come  with  her  out  of  the  cottage  behind  Smith  and 
Carman,  during  this  scene. 

"  That  be  Tom  Smith,"  replied  the  old  man.  "  Don't 
say  nothin',  my  lady,  it  be  all  quite  right.  They  be 
plighted.  He  be  a  good  boy,  be  Tom.  Times  be  hard, 
and  he  be  gone  for  a  soldier  to  get  money  and  gloory, 
before  they  can  get  married.  The  king  needs  good 
men,  my  lady,  and  he  got  a  good  one  when  Tom  took 
the  shilling,  that  he  did." 

"  I  wonder  where  they  are  going,"  said  Smith. 

"  To  some  place  away  off,  I've  heard  say,  sir.  Not 
to  fight  the  French,  but  the  'Merikins,  who  be  a  dread 
ful  wicked  lot,  I  be  told,  sir." 

Edith  looked  at  the  two  visitors  and  blushed  a  little. 
Smith  smiled  at  her  rather  sadly  and  was  silent. 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  said  Carman  Hawkins  slowly, 
"  that  don't  seem  just  proper,  now,  does  it  ?  " 

"  No     it    does    not,    you    are    quite    right,"    replied 


242  Smith  Brunt. 

Edith  in  a  low  tone,  and  they  walked  home  in  not 
quite  so  light  a  mood  as  they  had  come.  Smith  and 
Carman  could  not  know  it,  but  on  that  same  day  when 
the  sun  had  crossed  the  sea,  it  heard  the  drums  and 
fifes  of  a  recruiting  sergeant  playing  "  The  Girl  I  Left 
Behind  Me,"  in  the  street  of  Bayhampton,  and  saw  Will 
Hawkins  saying  good-bye  to  Mary  Smith.  That  was 
in  August.  In  the  following  January,  Thomas  and  Wil 
liam  lay  out  together  in  a  Louisiana  cane  brake  and  were 
kissed  by  the  turkey-buzzards.  The  battles  of  New 
Orleans  were  fought  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of 
peace,  and  therefore  had  no  effect  on  the  result  of  the 
war  ;  but  of  course  they  redounded  to  the  glory  of  our 
arms,  and  attested  the  splendid  valour  of  the  British 
army  in  defeat.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mary  and 
Annie  appreciated  the  glory  and  the  valour  respect 
ively. 

When  Edith  Wycherleigh  and  her  escort  got  back  to 
the  house  at  luncheon  time,  they  found  great  trouble 
had  come  to  pass  ;  to  explain  which  thoroughly  we 
must  return  to  the  two  bathers. 

After  leaving  the  others,  Tom  and  Teddy  took  their 
way  through  the  woods  until  they  emerged  on  a  rocky 
point  that  jutted  out  into  the  sea.  This  point  sheltered 
on  one  side  a  cove,  wherein  the  sea  smiled  most  allur 
ingly  in  the  still,  summer  weather. 

"Can  you  swim,  Ted?"  asked  Tom.  "Because  if 
you  can't,  we'll  go  in  from  the  beach  on  the  west  side 
of  the  point  where  it's  shoal;  but  if  you  can  we'll  dive 
off  the  big  rock  there  into  the  cove." 

"  Can  I  swim  ?  "  repeated  Teddy,  scornfully.  "  Why, 
don't  you  know  that  everybody  on  the  south  side  of 
Long  Island  is  born  with  web  feet  ?  Even  if  I  hadn't 
learned  to  swim  at  home,  I'd  have  learned  at  the  Gala- 


A  Walk  and  a  Swim.  243 

pagos.  You  ought  to  see  those  Kanakas,  Tom.  My  ! 
they  can  swim,  1  tell  you." 

And  while  they  undressed  among  the  high  rocks, 
Teddy  made  statements  about  the  South  Sea  Islanders 
and  the  adventures  of  himself  and  the  "  other  fellows  " 
of  the  Essex,  in  those  waters. 

"  Gracious,  this  water  is  clear,"  he  exclaimed  after 
they  had  plunged  in. 

"  Almost  as  clear  as  the  Pacific,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  Tom. 
"  It  is  not  usually  so  clear  as  this,  though,  I'll  confess. 
Look,  you  can  see  every  pebble  on  the  bottom." 

"I  always  notice  clear  water,"  said  Teddy,  "'cause 
in  the  Great  South  Bay,  when  you're  up  to  your  knees 
you  can't  often  see  your  feet." 

"  That  must  be  a  remarkable  sheet  of  water  from  all 
you  tell  me  of  it,"  said  Tom. 

"  Finest  in  the  world,"  replied  Teddy  with  the  calm 
force  of  righteous  conviction.  They  spent  a  long  time 
splashing  about  in  pure  delight,  so  long  indeed  that 
Tom  remembering  Teddy's  recent  illness  insisted  on 
coming  out  for  fear  of  the  boy  overtaxing  his  strength. 
They  had  nearly  dressed,  when  Teddy  uttered  an  ex 
clamation,  and  began  looking  among  the  rocks  at  his 
feet. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Tom.  "  Lost  some 
thing  ?  " 

"  Lost  something  ?  I  should  think  so,"  cried  Teddy. 
"I've  lost  my  watch,  chain,  locket  and  all  ?" 

"  Are  you  sure  ? "  said  Tom.  "  Feel  in  all  your  pock 
ets.  You  may  have  had  it  in  your  jacket,  or  waistcoat 
instead  of  your  fob." 

Teddy  did  so  and  exclaimed  again.  "  Why  !  every 
thing's  gone.  I  had  some  change  in  my  trousers,  and 
that's  gone  !  Tom,  we've  been  robbed  !  " 


244  Smith  Brunt. 

Tom  felt  in  his  own  pockets  and  then  made  a  few 
well  chosen  remarks.  "You're  right,  by  Jove,"  he 
added.  "Some  sneaking  swab  has  been  through  our 
clothes.  Oh,  I  say,  this  is  a  rum  go." 

"  And  my  locket  !  "  said  Teddy,  nearly  ready  to  cry. 
"  Oh,  if  we  had  only  caught  him  at  it." 

"Well,  by  George,  we  will  catch  him,"  declared 
Tom.  "  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  here  before. 
We'll  have  the  country  searched.  The  d—  -  thief 
can't  get  away." 

They  rapidly  finished  dressing,  and  hurried  back  to 
the  house.  Hugh  Wycherleigh  was  there  and  helped 
them  at  once  to  raise  the  hue  and  cry.  Every  man 
and  horse  on  the  place  were  sent  out  to  search  the 
park  and  surrounding  country.  The  nearest  constable 
was  summoned,  and  took  a  minute  description  of  the 
watches  and  Teddy's  locket.  All  hands  spent  the 
afternoon  in  looking  for  a  clue  ;  but  of  the  thief,  nor 
hide  or  hair  did  they  find. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

IN  WHICH  TWO  CHARACTERS  OBTAIN  ADVANTAGES. 

AFTER  dinner  that  evening  Hugh  Wycherleigh  and 
de  Voe  went  out  on  the  terrace  to  smoke,  a  prac 
tice  then  lately  revived  among  gentlemen  but  still  for 
bidden  in  the  house. 

"  Heard  anything  more  from  Portsmouth  ? "  asked 
de  Voe  carelessly,  as  he  lighted  his  cigar. 

"  Not  a  word,"  answered  Wycherleigh  taking  the 
proffered  tinder. 

"  And  have  you  written  to  the  '  company '  about  my 
proposition  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  am  afraid  they  won't  listen  to  it.  They 
have  put  up  enough  already." 

"  Ah,"  quoth  Herbert  reflectively  as  he  leaned  over 
the  balustrade,  "then  I  shall  be  in  rather  a  dilemma. 
I  wonder  if  this  would  bring  anything  to  help  along 
the  enterprise.  It's  a  pretty  thing,"  and  he  took  from 
his  pocket  and  held  in  the  light  from  a  window- 
Teddy's  locket. 

The  sight  affected  Hugh  Wycherleigh  even  more 
than  when  he  first  saw  the  trinket.  He  seized  the 
railing,  and  his  face  showed  like  a  white  buoy  in  the 
dark. 

"  So  you  are  the  one  who  has  it  ? "  he  whispered 
fiercely  after  several  moments,  while  de  Voe  eyed  him 
with  an  amused  expression. 

"  Why,  yes,"  answered  Herbert,  "  undoubtedly,  I  am 

245 


246  Smith   Brunt. 

the  one  who  has  it — now.  I  thought  I  might  as  well 
have  it,  as  you  didn't  want  it,  you  know.  Indeed  I 
can't  understand  why  you  threw  it  away,  after  taking 
so  much  trouble  to  get  it  too.  I  was  still  more  puzzled 
to  see  you  throw  away  the  shillings.  You  never  did 
such  a  thing  as  that  before  in  your  life." 

"  You  lie,"  gasped  Wycherleigh.     "  I " 

"  Oh,  oh,  oh,  careful,"  said  the  other.  "  Careful, 
Mr.  Wycherleigh,  Sir  Hugh  that  is  to  be.  'Lie'  is  not 
a  nice  word,  and  usually  leads  to  pistols, — though  pos 
sibly  this  little  toy  might  be  a  still  more  deadly 
weapon.  Of  course  I  cannot  imagine  why  you  were  so 
anxious  to  take  this  away  from  the  poor  little  boy,  but 
if  you  didn't  want  anybody  else  to  have  it  either,  you 
ought  not  to  have  thrown  it  so  near  that  lobster  pot 
when  you  hove  it  off  the  beach." 

"  So  you,  a  guest  in  my  house,  have  been  dogging 
my  footsteps  ?"  sneered  Wycherleigh. 

"  Exactly,"  was  the  complacent  reply,  "  while  you 
kept  close  astern  of  the  other  guest  in  your  house." 

"  It  was  a  damned  Yankee  trick." 

"  So  it  was,  so  it  was,  as  it  always  is  when  we  catch 
an  honest  Briton." 

"Very  clever  indeed,  my  friend,"  replied  Wycher 
leigh,  "  but  unless  you  put  that  locket  back  where  you 
found  it,  or  give  it  to  me,  I'll  turn  you  over  to  the 
sheriff  this  evening.  You  can  then  tell  your  story  to 
him,  and  find  which  he  will  believe — me,  or  an  unknown 
Yankee  adventurer,  hard  pressed  on  account  of  gamb 
ling,  a  man  whose  advent  in  this  country  is  under  sus 
picion,  and  who  has  the  evidence  of  the  theft  upon 
him." 

De  Voe,  instead  of  losing  his  temper  at  this  diatribe, 
began  to  laugh  quietly  in  his  most  exasperating  manner. 


Two  Characters  Obtain  Advantages.     247 

"What  interesting  evidence  it  will  be,  too,"  said  he. 
"  No  doubt  lots  of  people  would  like  to  see  it." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  are  driving  at,"  snapped 
Wycherleigh. 

"  Oh  well,  I  may  be  on  the  wrong  tack,  and  I  hate 
to  pry  into  family  matters.  It  may  be  none  of  my 
business  why  you  preferred  to  have  the  locket  under 
water,  but  my  little  adopted  cousin  might  like  to  know, 
and,  as  you  suggested  last  night,  it  might  be  worth  my 
while  to  look  up  his  history." 

"  See  here,  de  Voe,"  said  Wycherleigh,  "  what  is  the 
use  in  all  this  nonsense  ?  Come  right  down  to  what 
you  want.  How  much  blackmail  do  you  ask  for  this 
locket?" 

"  What  a  brutal  way  to  put  it  ? "  complained  Her 
bert,  urbanely  as  ever.  "  I've  not  the  least  idea  of 
such  a  thing.  But  if  I  make  you  a  present  of  this  little 
toy,  which  you  find  so  attractive,  you  might  at  least  do 
me  a  favor  also.  In  the  first  place,  persuade  the 
company  to  make  the  advance  of  which  I  spoke  ;  and 
in  the  second  place,  see  if  you  cannot  get  me  a  loan 
before  I  sail.  I  will  repay  it  with  proper  interest  on  my 
return.  I  mean  that.  The  only  risk  will  be  the  chance 
of  my  death.  In  that  case  Mrs.  de  Voe  would  go  to 
her  father  in  America,  who  might  or  might  not  repay 
you.  He  is  quite  able  to  do  so." 

"  How  much  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Two  thousand  pounds  will  do." 

"  Two  thousand  pounds?  And  you  don't  call  that 
blackmail  ? " 

"  No,  and  you  mustn't  either,"  answered  de  Voe  with 
more  asperity.  "  You  have  used  that  word  twice  now, 
besides  the  word  lie.  Don't  do  it  again.  See  here, 
Wycherleigh,"  he  continued  earnestly,  "  I  don't  know 


248  Smith  Brunt. 

and  don't  care  what  your  interest  may  be  in  this  locket, 
but  it  must  be  very  deep  indeed  to  have  given  you 
such  a  fit  last  night,  and  to  make  the  oldest  son  of  a 
baronet  of  England  commit  larceny  like  a  sneak  thief. 
If  I  asked  you  for  ten  thousand  pounds  out  and  out, 
you  would  give  it  to  me.  In  that  case  you  might  have 
some  reason  to  growl  and  call  names,  but  you  would 
come  down  with  the  money.  As  it  is,  I  am  letting  you 
off  very  easily,  with  a  mere  loan,  for  which  I  should 
probably  have  asked  in  any  case.  I  am  on  my  beam 
ends,  as  you  just  now  observed  in  your  delicate  man 
ner,  and  as  many  an  English  nobleman  is,  also,  as  well 
as  this  Yankee  adventurer  ;  I  am  undertaking  a  dan 
gerous  and  disagreeable  venture,  hardly  fit  at  all  for 
a  gentleman,  so  that  you  can  make  a  lot  of  money; 
and  it  is  only  decent  for  you  to  lend  me  a  compara 
tively  small  sum  like  that,  or  at  least  help  me  to  borrow 
it.  You  want  this  locket.  My  answer  is  that  you 
shall  have  it,  when  I  have  a  thousand  pounds  advanced 
on  my  share  of  the  venture,  and  two  thousand  more  in 
the  bank  on  my  note.  That  is  a  perfectly  fair  propo 
sition.  Now  you  can  do  as  you  like/' 

"  Very  well,  I'll  see  what  I  can  do,"  grumbled  Wy- 
cherleigh.  "  In  the  meantime,  oblige  me  by  keeping 
that  locket  to  yourself." 

"  I  shall  do  so  most  carefully,"  replied  de  Voe,  "  and 
indeed  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  take  it  away  with 
me  to-morrow." 

"  To-morrow  ?     Shall  you  go  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  It  will  take  me  at  least  ten  days  to  get  ready  for 
sea,  and  I  had  better  go  to  Southampton  and  begin  at 
once.  Undoubtedly  the  money  will  be  forthcoming 
from  the  company  before  then.  If  you  will  get  this 
loan  for  me,  I  won't  wait  for  the  letter-of-marque." 


Two  Characters  Obtain  Advantages.     249 

"As  you  choose.  Let  us  go  in,  if  you  have  finished 
your  cigar/'  and  Wycherleigh  led  the  way  indoors. 

Next  morning  the  de  Voes  left,  and  no  one  in  the 
house  was  sorry,  except  apparently  Hugh  Wycherleigh, 
who  was  exceedingly  morose  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
finally  went  away — to  London,  he  said.  Mrs.  Gray 
came  to  the  house  to  take  Hugh's  place  as  chaperone, 
Sir  Richard  being  considered  too  old,  and  Tom  incom 
petent  for  that  important  post ;  so  there  was  no 
discordant  presence  in  Wycherleigh  House.  The  Grays 
so  far  from  having  any  repugnance  toward  Smith,  as  he 
had  feared,  were  particularly  kind  and  cordial  to  him  ; 
and  as  for  the  little  Yankee  midshipman,  their  hearts 
seemed  to  go  out  to  him.  Teddy's  only  trouble  was 
old  Sir  Richard,  who  was  always  asking  for  him  and 
calling  him  Artie.  Edith  Wycherleigh,  however,  gen 
erally  managed  to  divert  her  father's  attention  and 
relieve  the  youngster.  The  prisoners  rode,  and  drove, 
and  sailed,  and  went  a-fishing  with  their  guards,  and 
so  passed  merrily  enough  nearly  a  fortnight. 

The  visit  would  have  been  memorable  to  the  Amer 
icans  on  account  of  the  peculiarity  of  their  situation, 
and  the  novelty  of  their  life  and  surroundings,  if  for  no 
other  reasons  ;  but  by  Smith  Brunt  those  two  weeks 
were  to  be  remembered  for  more  than  that — for  more 
than  even  the  kindness  of  his  hosts.  For  during  that 
period  a  remarkable  change  was  worked  in  the  young 
officer,  a  change  that  gradually  became  apparent  to 
himself  and  caused  him  wonder.  By  that  marvellous 
metamorphosis  he  became  able  to  talk  easily  with  a 
woman,  and  enjoyed  without  effort  or  doubt  every 
minute  of  her  society.  The  most  curious  part  of  it 
was  that  often,  when  he  afterwards  thought  over  con 
versations  in  which  he  had  found  Miss  Wycherleigh  so 


250  Smith  Brunt. 

entertaining,  he  remembered  that  he  himself  had  done 
most  of  the  talking.  He  described  to  her  every 
thing  curious  he  had  seen  in  his  cruises,  and  in  his 
journey  across  South  America  ;  but  indeed,  he  seemed 
to  interest  her  quite  as  much  when  he  talked  of  his 
home  and  his  father  and  the  Great  South  Bay.  He  be 
gan  to  think  that  he  actually  amused  her — amused  that 
gay  and  pretty  woman.  At  any  rate  she  never  seemed 
bored,  and  though  Smith  enjoyed  himself  immensely 
outdoors  with  Tom,  he  soon  found  himself  always  look 
ing  forward  to  the  moments  with  his  fair  jailer.  After 
a  while  he  began  to  make  excuses  to  get  back  to  her, 
and  would  even  leave  a  trout  stream  half  whipped,  for 
fear  of  being  late  for  tea.  Often  she  would  accompany 
the  young  men  in  their  sports,  and  Smith  nearly  broke 
his  neck  in  trying  to  ride  a  horse  after  her  across 
country.  But  what  he  liked  most  about  the  little  lady 
was  her  devotion  to  her  father,  around  whom  she  was 
generally  flitting  and  chirping  like  a  bird  around  her 
nest. 

Though  so  gracious  to  the  young  sailor,  Edith  Wy- 
cherleigh  never  gave  over  her  amusement  of  teasing 
him,  but  practised  it  at  frequent  intervals,  to  his  out 
ward  confusion  and  strange  inward  delight.  On  one 
occasion  Tom  expostulated  with  her. 

"  Edith  stop  torturing  the  prisoner,"  he  commanded. 
"That's  not  civilized." 

"  You  mind  your  own  business,  Mr.  Lieutenant  Wy- 
cherleigh,"  she  retorted.  "They're  not  your  prisoners 
now.  They  are  mine,  and  I'll  do  what  I  like  with 
them." 

"  I  say,  Smith,  you  had  better  look  out  for  her,  you 
know,"  said  the  outrageous  brother.  "  She's  a  terrible 
flirt." 


Two  Characters  Obtain  Advantages.     251 

"What  a  horrid  slander  !  "  cried  Edith.  "  Besides  I 
couldn't  flirt  with  this  savage  American,  if  I  tried.  He 
is  altogether  too  primeval.  He  hasn't  the  faintest 
notion  of  the  art." 

"  I  am  afraid  that  is  true,"  laughed  Smith. 

"  That's  jolly  lucky  for  you,  Smith,"  observed  Tom. 
"  She  has  broken  the  hearts  of  two  Earls  and  a  Mar 
quis,  and  she'd  snap  yours  just  for  practice." 

"Where  did  you  ever  get  such  stories,  I'd  like  to 
know?"  demanded  Edith  indignantly.  "You  have 
been  away  since  my  first  season,  you  sea-monster.  I 
should  think  you  and  Mary  Gray  might  find  more  to 
say  to  each  other  than  fibs  about  me.  I'll  be  even 
with  you,  Miss  Gray." 

"  I  say,  Edith,  you  really  ought  to  have  married  the 
noble  Marquis,  you  know,"  continued  the  exasperating 
sailor.  "  They  say  he'll  be  in  the  Ministry  before  long, 
and  then  I'd  be  a  post-captain  in  no  time." 

"  If  you  don't  stop  your  nonsense,  you  silly,"  cried 
Edith,  "  I  will  marry  him,  and  devote  myself  to  block 
ing  your  whole  career." 

"  Oho  !  "  roared  Tom.  "  Then  you  have  got  him 
under  your  lee,  have  you  ?" 

At  this,  Edith  chased  the  wretch  out  of  doors  with  a 
sofa  cushion,  while  the  others  cheered  the  pursuit. 
Smith  laughed,  but  not  very  heartily,  and  thought 
Tom's  joking  rather  rough  and  stupid,  not  to  say  in 
bad  taste.  Afterwards  he  wondered  why  it  should  an 
noy  him, — Edith  Wycherleigh's  affairs  were  certainly 
no  concern  of  his,  and  if  she  had  all  the  peers  of  Eng 
land  in  her  train,  why,  no  wonder.  He  hoped  she 
would  choose  as  good  a  one  as  she  deserved,  if  she 
could  find  such  a  one,  that  was  all. 

That  evening,  just  before  dinner,  the  mail  came,  and 


252  Smith   Brunt. 

when  Smith  and  Teddy  came  down  to  the  drawing 
room,  Tom,  with  a  lugubrious  face,  handed  to  each  of 
them  a  long  blue  paper  with  large  seals. 

"  And  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you,"  said  he,  "  that 
there  is  now  at  Southampton  a  cartel,  that  will  sail  for 
New  York  this  week." 

"Then  I  am  afraid  we  ought  to  leave  to-morrow 
morning,  Tom,"  was  all  that  Smith  said  as  he  opened 
the  paper.  But  Teddy  cried  out,  "  The  exchange  ! 
Hurrah  !  "  whereat  the  older  people  laughed. 

"You  needn't  say  what  you  think,  Mr.  Brunt,"  said 
Edith,  "  I  won't  tease  you  to-night  ;  but  now  that  you 
are  free  again,  I  hope  you  and  Tom  won't  try  to  kill 
each  other  at  once.  It  will  delay  dinner." 

"  We  shall  certainly  put  off  the  combat  until  after 
dessert,"  said  Smith,  offering  his  arm.  The  dinner 
passed  off  not  quite  so  merrily  as  usual,  although  the 
little  lady  of  the  house  kept  the  conversation  going, 
and  Tom  ran  several  tilts  with  Teddy  over  the  com 
parative  merits  of  the  two  countries  and  declared  that 
he  would  yet  find  some  way  of  keeping  the  middy  in 
England  and  making  him  into  a  Britisher.  After  din 
ner,  they  all  went  out  on  the  terrace.  Smith  in  some 
way  happened  to  find  himself  with  Edith  Wycherleigh, 
apart  from  the  others. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  you  are  quite  happy  now  ? "  she 
said,  looking  not  at  Smith,  but  out  over  the  lawn.  A 
less  humble  man,  or  an  older  one  might  have  detected 
just  the  slightest  suspicion  of  a  sigh  in  her  tone,  but 
Smith  did  not. 

"  You  promised  not  to  tease  me  to-night,  Miss  Wy 
cherleigh,"  he  said.  "  How  can  I  answer  that  question 
without  seeming  either  disloyal  to  my  country,  or 
wretchedly  ungrateful  to  you  ?" 


Two  Characters  Obtain  Advantages.     253 

"  No,  it  was  not  a  fair  question,  and  you  need  not 
answer  it,"  replied  Edith,  and  the  dimple  now  was 
quiescent.  "  I  will  keep  my  promise.  I  know  you  are 
happy,  and,  of  course,  you  ought  to  be.  No  one  could 
expect  you  to  be  otherwise.  But — but  it  is  all  such  a 
dreadful,  horrible,  unnatural  thing.  I  joked  about  it 
before  dinner,  and  I  am  ashamed  of  myself.  Suppose 
you  and  Tom  should  meet  in  battle.  Good  Heavens, 
you  have  done  so  twice  already,  and  tried  to  kill  eacii 
other." 

"All  the  less  chance  of  doing  it  again,"  answered 
Smith  cheerfully.  "  And  in  future  we  shall  take  more 
care  to  avoid  each  other." 

"Oh,  don't  talk  about  it  lightly,"  she  said  with  a 
shudder.  "  Even  if  you  don't  meet,  Tom  will  be  trying 
to  kill  your  people,  men  like  you,  and  even  children 
like  Dickie  Gray  and  that  dear  little  fellow  over  there  ; 
and  you  in  turn  will  be  trying  to  kill  Englishmen. 
Why  does  Heaven  allow  such  things?" 

"  Miss  Wycherleigh,"  said  Smith,  gravely  enough 
this  time,  "  I  have  thought  many  times  of  all  that  you 
say  and  more  than  ever  in  the  last  two  weeks.  It  is 
dreadful.  Perhaps  we  began  it  hastily, — many  good 
people  in  my  own  country  think  so — but  I  have  always 
thought  we  were  patient  to  extreme,  and  were  driven 
into  this  war,  perhaps  because  of  our  very  patience. 
You  see  we  could  not  submit  longer  to  have  our  people 
pressed  out  of  our  own  ships.  There  !  I  had  intended 
never  to  touch  on  the  merits  of  this  wretched  quarrel 
in  your  hearing,  and  now  I  have  done  so.  Please  for 
give  me." 

"  I  do.  It  was  I  who  brought  up  the  subject.  I 
have  heard  Tom  say  that  he  did  not  blame  you  for 
fighting,  but  he  said  also  that  we  were  in  a  life  and 


254  Smith   Brunt. 

death  struggle  with  the  French,  and  had  to  take  all 
risks  to  man  our  ships  and  keep  control  of  the  sea. 
But  it  does  seem  to  me  that,  whoever  is  right  and  who 
ever  is  wrong,  such  things  ought  to  be  settled  without 
setting  men  like  you  and  Tom  to  kill  each  other. 
Surely  some  one  must  be  to  blame  for  that." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  replied  Smith  dubiously.  "  A  watch 
officer  like  myself,  cannot  pretend  to  fathom  the  ways 
of  statesmen.  But  we  have  made  our  point  now,  and  I 
for  one  hope  fervently  for  the  end.  I  didn't  feel  so 
when  I  came  here,  Miss  Wycherleigh.  I  wanted  re 
venge  then,  for  the  defeats  that  I  had  suffered,  for  the 
Captain  I  had  loved,  and  the  ship  that  I  had  loved.  I 
thought  only  of  the  sorrow  on  my  own  side.  I  was 
mad  to  get  back  and  serve  on  a  winning  ship.  Aye, 
Miss  Wycherleigh,  I  was  wicked  enough  almost  to  ^ ray 
that  the  war  might  not  end  before  I  got  my  chance. 
You  have  sometimes  called  me  a  savage,"  he  continued 
smiling  sadly,  "  and  perhaps  you  were  nearer  to  the 
truth  than  you  thought.  But  if  I  was  a  savage,  you 
have  converted  me  in  these  two  weeks.  Yes,  you  and 
yours,  and  what  I  have  seen  in  this  country.  Don't 
misunderstand  me,  I  am  glad  to  go  back,  as  you  say. 
Of  course  I  could  not  be  happy  out  of  the  service,  while 
the  war  lasts,  and  I  shall  play  my  part  in  it  as  hard  as 
I  can." 

"But  you  won't  hate  us,  will  you?"  she  pleaded 
looking  up  at  Smith,  with  none  of  the  usual  sparkle  in 
her  face,  but  a  look  that  he  remembered  all  his  life. 
"  You  won't  fight  in  anger,  and  you  will  spare  where 
you  can  ? " 

"  Hate  you  ?  I  would  give  all  my  hopes  of  glory  or 
promotion  to  have  the  war  end  to-morrow.  And  you, 


Two  Characters  Obtain  Advantages.     255 

will  you  sometimes  think  that  the  Yankees  are  not  all 
abominable  ?" 

"  The  two  whom  I  know,  are  not  such  '  a  dreadful 
wicked  lot,'  "  she  answered,  quoting  the  old  villager. 
Then  she  continued  in  a  manner  more  like  her  gay  lit 
tle  self.  "  But,  Mr.  Wicked  American,  if  I  am  to  pre 
serve  pleasant  recollections  of  your  worshipful  self, 
which  is  what  you  principally  mean,  you  must  make  me 
a  further  promise." 

"  Anything  you  ask." 

*  Then  you  must  assure  me,"  she  said  slowly,  looking 
down  at  her  little  foot  and  wiggling  it  against  a  stone 
of  the  terrace,  "  that  you — do  not — believe — and  won't 
believe — that — that — what  Tom  said  to-day  in  joke." 
She  looked  up  suddenly,  "  Any  of  it.  You  won't,  will 
you?" 

"  Never,"  replied  Smith,  and  there  rushed  over  him 
an  extraordinary  feeling  that  he  had  never  known  be 
fore  in  his  life. 

"  Then  you  shall  have  a  reminder  of  your  pledges," 
said  Edith  gaily.  She  picked  a  rose  that  grew  on  the 
balustrade  and  handed  it  to  him.  "  Keep  that,  sir,  and 
remember,  first,  that  it  grew  in  England,  and  second, 
that  the  lady  who  gave  it  to  you  is  a  foolish  tease,  but 
not  a  coquette." 

The  young  officer,  almost  trembling  took  the  flower, 
looked  at  it  and  at  her,  and  then  said  only,  "  I  will." 

"  Come,  Mrs.  Gray  will  be  looking  for  us  if  we  stay 
here  longer,  and  it  wouldn't  do  for  the  hostess  to  be 
scolded,  would  it  ? "  said  Edith,  and  she  walked  back 
to  the  group  at  the  other  end  of  the  terrace,  followed 
silently  by  Smith.  He  continued  very  quiet  during 
the  rest  of  the  evening.  After  the  ladies  had  gone,  he 
demanded  a  cigar  from  Tom,  and  smoked  away  so 


256  Smith   Brunt. 

silently  as  to  call  down  upon  him  the  chaff  of  the  other 
two  for  his  ill  humor.  Finally  they  went  upstairs, 
and  long  after  Teddy  had  gone  to  bed  to  dream  of 
home,  Smith  leaned  on  the  window  sill  and  went 
through  another  cigar,  blowing  the  smoke  carefully  out 
of  the  window. 

Again  and  again  he  called  himself  a  conceited  ass  ; 
yet  again  he  would  wonder  why  she  had  spoken  as  she 
did.  Why  did  she  care  for  his  good  opinion,  or  whether 
he  thought  her  engaged  to  a  dozen  Marquises  ?  Why 
had  she  given  him  the  rose  ?  What  nonsense,  he  rea 
soned  ;  of  course  no  woman  would  want  to  be  thought 
a  coquette  by  anybody,  and  she  gave  him  the  rose  be 
cause  it  was  a  sweet  and  graceful  act,  and  just  like  her. 
Still  that  new,  wonderful  feeling  clung  to  him,  nor  did 
he  try  too  hard  to  shake  it  off  ;  for  never  was  thought 
more  beautiful.  Even  if  it  were  imagination,  it  gave 
him  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  some  conception  of 
what  it  would  be  to  have  a  woman,  a  young,  lovely,  fas 
cinating  woman,  actually  care  for  him,  for  Smith  Brunt. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ABOUT  AN  EVENING  IN  SOUTHAMPTON. 

TN  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  they  left  Wycher- 
leigh  House,  the  three  Americans,  prisoners  no 
longer,  arrived  at  the  Nelson's  Head  in  Southampton,  to 
await  there  the  sailing  of  the  cartel  for  home.  Tom 
Wycherleigh  had  come  with  them,  much  to  the  relief  of 
Mr.  Hawkins  who  was  still  nervous  about  press  gangs. 
While  the  others  were  at  supper,  the  distinguished 
Captain-of-the-Fore-top  betook  himself  to  the  tap-room 
to  spend  his  few  remaining  coins  in  celebration  of  his 
departure  from  duress.  In  this  ceremony  he  received 
kind  assistance  from  all  of  the  enemy  present.  Carm 
seated  himself  at  the  head  of  a  long  table,  facing  the 
door  and  played  the  host  with  dignity  and  grace,  mak 
ing  himself  especially  agreeable  to  the  bar-maid.  In  a 
short  speech  he  had  proposed  the  health  of  all  present, 
hoping  that  none  of  them  would  ever  have  occasion  to 
"  muss  "  with  a  Yankee  ship,  and  adding  the  kindly 
wish,  in  case  any  did  so,  that  the  Lord  would  have 
mercy  on  their  souls,  and  was  about  to  drink  the  toast 
when  he  suddenly  paused.  Over  his  pewter,  he  had 
sighted  a  newcomer  and  must  have  found  him  interest 
ing,  for  he  delayed  his  draught  a  moment,  then  finished 
it,  and  closing  one  eye  continued  his  observation 
through  the  glass  bottom  of  the  mug.  Any  one  who 
watched  him  carefully  might  have  seen  the  ends  of  a 
smile  appear  on  each  side  of  the  pot,  and  extend 
nearly  to  his  ears. 

257 


258  Smith   Brunt. 

The  object  of  Carm's  attention  seated  himself  at  the 
foot  of  the  board  and  called  for  ale.  Like  the  other 
patrons  of  the  establishment,  he  was  evidently  a  sea 
man  ;  but  was  conspicuous  by  flaming  red  hair  and 
beard.  The  lurid  fringe  drew  attention  to  an  evil 
looking  face,  thickly  pitted  all  over.  Having  finished 
his  scrutiny,  Carm  replaced  his  mug  on  the  table  and 
emitted  his  breath  in  a  manner  indicative  of  wonder  and 
satisfaction,  which,  however,  escaped  the  attention  of 
the  company. 

"  Charge  that  up  to  me,  Miss  What-ye-call  'em,"  he 
called  out,  as  the  new  comer  gave  his  order.  "  Here's 
another  party  blown  in  who  can  maybe  tell  you  what  a 
fine  country  the  United  States  is,"  he  continued  to  the 
company  at  large.  "  Maybe  he's  been  there." 

"This  'ere  bully  is  a  Yankee,"  graciously  explained 
the  man  who  sat  next  to  the  red-headed  one.  "  Though 
to  do  him  justice,  you'd  'ardly  know  it,  and  he's  a  very 
good  sort.  He's  'changed  and  agoin'  'ome  and  we're 
generously  a-drinkin'  his  'appy  return.  Will  you  join 
us?" 

"  Kind  o'  washin'  out  bad  blood,"  added  Carm. 
"  Drawin'  closer  the  kindly  ties  and  things.  I'm  pro- 
vidin'  the  kindly  ties,  and  we  calculate  to  git  up  some 
nice  brotherly  love  before  mornin'.  You  look  like  a 
man  who  has  cruised  about  quite  some.  Have  you 
ever  been  in  my  beloved  country  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  have,"  growled  the  stranger,  "  and  here's  to 
h —  with  it." 

"  Well  now,  that's  kind  of  unpolite,  Cap,"  protested 
Carm,  with  a  grin.  "  What  have  you  got  agin  us  ? " 

"It's  a  nation  of  cowards  and  snivelling  hypocrites," 
replied  the  other. 

"Yes,    yes,— and   horse   troughs,"    continued    Carm. 


In  Southampton.  259 

"  Don't  forgit  the  horse  troughs.  They're  some  of 
the  darn  mean  things  over  there,  too, — 'specially  for 
bold  privateers." 

The  stranger  turned  red  as  his  beard,  and  glared 
fiercely  at  Carm. 

"  What  the  h are  you  talking  about,  you  young 

cub  ?  "  he  roared.  "  Who  are  you  anyway  ?  " 

"Only  just  a  poor  clam-digger  from  Long  Island. 
Maybe  you've  been  there,  eh  ? "  replied  Carm.  "  But 
there  now,  don't  let's  have  no  unpleasant  disturbance. 
Since  Cap'n  Blue-beard  won't  drink  my  health,  mates, 
why  let's  all  drink  to  him.  Here's  to  the  fair-haired 
stranger  and  his  happy  recovery  from  the  small-pox." 

"What's  that  to  you  ?"  roared  the  red-headed  man, 
as  the  others  laughed.  "  Ain't  you  pretty  impudent  for 
a  d Yankee  prisoner  ? " 

"  No,  no,  Cap,"  answered  Carm,  cheerily,  "  not  impu 
dent,  only  just  glad.  Think  what  the  whull  world  would 
ha'  lost  if  you  hadn't  ha'  got  well.  Must  have  been 
a  terrible  case  though.  Tell  us  about  it,  won't  you  ?" 

"  I'll  learn  you  manners,  you  dirty  Yankee  clam- 
digger,'''  howled  the  enraged  seaman  with  a  volley  of 
oaths.  He  rose  as  though  about  to  perform  this  disin 
terested  service,  when  a  waiter  entered  the  room  and 
called  out,  "Dart!  Is  there  one  of  the  Darfs  men 
here?" 

"Aye,  aye."'  responded  the  enraged  teacher  of  man 
ners,  "who  wants  me  ?" 

"Captain  de  Voe,"  replied  the  messenger.  "He 
wants  you  directly.  This  way, "  and  he  led  the  way 
out  of  the  room. 

"  I'll  see  you  again,  young  monkey,"  growled  the  red- 
haired  man  as  he  followed  the  waiter. 

"  All  right,  Cap,'v  responded  Carm,     "  Put  your  hair 


260  Smith   Brunt. 

out  first,  please,  and  cool  off.  Excuse  me,  mates,"  he 
continued,  getting  up  from  the  table,  "  but  that's  a  long 
lost  friend  of  mine,  and  I  guess  I'll  keep  his  pretty 
topsail  in  sight  awhile." 

This  announcement  called  forth  joyful  exclamations 
from  the  assembled  company.  "  Fight,  eh!"  "We'll 
all  go  along  and  see  fair  play  !  "  "I  know  him,  he's  a 
d privateersman  !  "  "  Punch  'is  blessed  red  'ead." 

"  No,  no,  boys,  there  ain't  a-goin'  to  be  no  fight,  least 
ways  not  just  now.  You  sit  right  here.  I'll  be  back 
in  a  minute.  Miss  What's-your-name,  kindly  give  these 
here  lads  another  go  all  round,  and  charge  it  up  to  me. 
I'm  with  Mr.  Brunt  and  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  you  know  ; 
it'll  be  all  right."  So  saying  Carm  slipped  out  of  the 
door,  and  steered  across  the  courtyard  of  the  inn  in 
the  wake  of  his  chase.  We  will  leave  him  thus  occu 
pied,  if  you  please,  and  turn  our  attention  away  from 
the  crowded  part  of  Southampton  to  a  small  house  in 
the  outskirts  of  that  seaport  town. 

This  house  was  the  property  of  a  certain  Mrs.  Lee$ 
a  highly  respectable  matron  whose  husband  was  at  sea, 
he  being  owner  and  master  of  a  deep-sea  trader.  As 
an  insurance  against  bad  ventures,  the  thrifty  wife 
took  in  lodgers  and  had  recently  rented  her  best  room 
to  no  other  than  Grace  de  Voe.  And  on  this  night 
Herbert  had  said  farewell  to  his  wife  before  sailing  on 
a  long  voyage. 

Poor,  lonely  beauty,  she  was  sitting  by  the  open 
window,  looking  out  into  the  darkness  of  the  world. 
Her  elbows  rested  on  the  sill,  and  her  chin  on  a  damp 
and  crumpled  handkerchief  in  her  hands.  The  man 
for  whom  she  had  left  her  father,  given  up  her  home, 
and  crossed  the  sea,  had  now  left  her  utterly  alone, 
and  gone,  whither  she  knew  not  and  had  been  forbid- 


In  Southampton.  261 

den  to  ask.  It  would  be  six  months  at  least,  a  year 
perhaps,  before  she  could  have  him  back.  She  had 
begged  to  go  with  him,  no  matter  what  his  mission, 
pleading  that  hardship  and  peril,  even  warfare  and 
scenes  of  violence  were  preferable  to  being  left  behind. 
But  Herbert  had  been  resolute  in  his  refusal.  Her 
only  solace  was  that  he  had  seemed  almost  as  reluc 
tant  to  leave  as  was  she  to  remain.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  comfort  in  knowing  that  the  man  she  adored 
was  going  to  be  thoroughly  miserable  during  his 
absence  from  her. 

The  runaway  couple  had  eaten  all  their  wedding 
cake  and  were  now  having  difficulty  about  the  bread 
and  cheese.  Even  in  the  beginning  Grace's  romance 
and  excitement  had  been  not  altogether  unmixed  with 
qualms  ;  — but  the  cake,  while  it  lasted,  had  been  very 
toothsome.  De  Voe  had  sailed  straight  to  England, 
knowing  that  pursuit  there  would  be  impossible  during 
the  war.  With  the  stolen  schooner  he  could  do  quite 
as  well  at  his  trade  under  the  English  flag  as  under  his 
own,  rather  better  indeed,  since  he  had  for  prey  the 
French  also  and  such  allies  as  they  might  have  from 
time  to  time.  The  change  made  as  little  difference  to 
his  crew  of  mercenaries.  He  trusted  to  get  a  letter-of- 
marque.  but  if  unsuccessful  in  that,  he  could  always 
find  employment  in  some  way  for  a  tight  little  schooner. 
If  worst  came  to  worst  he  could  sell  the  craft  ;  but 
he  looked  upon  that  as  a  last  resort,  and  hoped  to 
make  enough  to  be  able  to  return  her  to  Mr.  Temble 
after  the  war.  Like  all  gentlemen  engaged  in  enter 
prises  with  other  people's  property,  he  regarded  the 
transaction  as  a  loan,  not  a  theft.  He  argued  also  that 
as  master  of  a  privateer  he  had  a  wide  scope  and 
should  not  be  limited  in  his  cruising;  he  was  really 


262  Smith   Brunt. 

serving  the  best   interests  of  the  owner  ;  all  of  which 
was  plausible  to  himself  and  convincing  to  his  wife. 

In  England,  he  was  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  get 
ting  a  letter-of-marque,  and  for  the  time  being  was 
compelled  to  stoop  to  common  honesty  and  take  em 
ployment  as  a  merchantman,  much  to  his  bride's  relief 
and  his  own  chagrin.  During  that  winter,  he  carried 
two  cargoes  to  Continental  ports  and  netted  a  fair 
amount.  In  these  voyages  Grace  participated,  and 
continued  happy.  In  the  spring,  with  the  money  ac 
quired  in  this  way,  and  more  raised  by  a  bottomry 
bond  on  the  schooner,  they  had  gone  up  to  London  for 
the  season,  Grace  eager  to  enjoy  the  social  amusements 
of  the  great  capital,  and  Herbert  knowing  well  how 
those  amusements  could  be  turned  to  account  by  a 
clever  man.  De  Voe  had  friends  at  Court,  and  the 
marvelous  beauty  of  the  wife,  coupled  with  the  tastes 
and  address  of  the  husband,  soon  won  for  the  pair  a 
place  in  the  circle  that  centered  on  the  Prince  Regent. 
That  grave  potentate  himself  had  been  powerfully 
taken  with  the  charms  of  Mrs.  de  Voe,  and  by  his  at 
tentions  had  given  Herbert  some  anxiety  about  making 
too  great  a  social  success.  It  was  no  more  than  nat 
ural  that  Grace  de  Voe  should  have  enjoyed  all  this  im 
mensely.  She  was  young,  she  was  in  the  whirl  of  a 
great  capital  for  the  first  time,  she  was  beautiful  and 
owned  a  looking  glass.  Unless  you  have  yourself  com 
bined  all  those  conditions,  madame,  do  not  call  poor 
Grace  vain  and  silly  ;  though  I  admit  that  she  was  not, 
and  never  had  been  the  most  sensible  person  in  the 
world.  That  first  season  went  merrily  as  the  tradk 
tional  marriage  bell,  and  brought  enough  invitations  to 
dinner  to  keep  the  board  bill  to  a  minimum.  Dur 
ing  the  following  fall  and  winter  they  chartered  the 


In  Southampton.  263 

schooner  and  obtained  free  food  and  lodging  at  var 
ious  country  places,  where  they  were  welcome  for 
Grace's  attractions  and  Herbert's  accomplishments. 
For  de  Voe  was  a  good  shot,  could  ride  almost  any 
thing,  and  would  ride  anything.  He  had  been  a  horse 
man  before  he  became  a  seaman,  and  found  his  ability 
appreciated  in  the  equine  island.  Those  were  wild 
days,  too,  for  drinking  and  gambling,  and  Herbert  de 
Voe  by  careful  management  of  the  former  amusement 
did  excellent  well  at  the  latter. 

But  that  kind  of  support  cannot  be  relied  upon  with 
out  some  sacrifice  and  expenditure.  The  butcher  and 
baker  may  be  avoided  for  long  periods,  but  the  tailor 
and  dressmaker  are  important  allies  and  have  to  be  re 
tained.  In  the  second  season  also  the  novelty  wore 
out  for  Grace.  Her  doll  began  to  show  symptoms  of 
internal  sawdust,  an  ailment  of  which  she  was  advised 
at  every  opportunity  by  acquaintances  of  her  own  sex. 
One  thing  after  another  occurred  to  open  the  eyes  of 
the  young  provincial  bride  to  the  character  of  the  set 
in  which  she  had  been  placed.  She  began  to  realize, 
to  her  horror,  that  she  was  acting  to  some  extent  as  a 
stool  duck  for  her  husband,  and  parading  her  beauty 
as  part  of  their  scheme  of  existence.  Whether  she 
ever  thought  regretfully  of  the  young  sailor,  at  whose 
reverent  adoration  she  had  used  to  smile,  I  do  not 
know  ;  but  among  the  London  Corinthians  she  found 
another  sort  of  admiration,  certainly  very  different. 

The  man  who  had  rendered  himself  most  odious  to 
Grace  by  his  attentions,  was  Hugh  Wycherleigh  ;  but 
de  Voe  had  refused  to  rebuff  him,  because  of  some 
plan  in  which  both  men  were  engaged.  It  was  for  this 
that  Herbert  had  insisted  on  accepting  the  invitation 
to  Tormouth,  and  for  this  that  he  was  now  going  to 


264  Smith   Brunt. 

sea  ;  but  the  nature  of  the  scheme  he  had  refused  to 
confide  to  his  wife. 

At  Southampton  a  thousand  pounds  had  come  from 
somewhere,  and  been  placed  in  the  bank  for  the  use  of 
Grace  during  her  husband's  absence  ;  for  Herbert  was 
not  yet  Europeanized  to  the  extent  of  spending  all  the 
money  on  himself.  He  had  apparently  expected  more, 
and  had  shown  some  annoyance  at  not  getting  it.  On 
his  leavetaking  he  had  told  Grace  that  two  thousand 
more  might  come,  and  had  given  her  a  sealed  letter  to 
be  sent  to  Wycherleigh  in  that  case.  If  anything  hap 
pened  to  Herbert,  this  sum  would  keep  her  in  comfort 
in  the  quiet  English  town,  until  the  end  of  the  war,  and 
enable  her  then  to  return  to  her  father. 

So  he  had  gone,  and  she  poor  thing  longed  only  to 
hide  her  beautiful  head  and  aching  heart  in  some  out  of 
the  way  nook,  until  her  husband's  return.  She  thought 
enough  of  her  old  home  now,  as  she  looked  over  the 
house  tops  at  the  Western  Sea,  and  reflected  that  there 
were  worse  things  in  the  world  than  provincialism. 

A  knock  at  the  door  disturbed  her,  and  the  maid  an 
nounced  a  man  below  who  wanted  to  see  her. 

"  What  sort  of  a  man  ?  What  does  he  want  ?  "  asked 
Grace. 

"  He  looks  to  be  a  sailor,  mem,  and  he  has  a  note, 
which  he  won't  allow  nobody  to  deliver  it  but  himself. 
He  says  he's  from  Capting  de  Voe." 

"  Show  him  up,"  replied  Grace,  and  lighted  a  candle. 
A  few  moments  afterward  there  appeared  in  the  door 
way,  cap  in  hand,  a  red  haired  seaman  whom  Grace  at 
once  recognized  as  the  coxswain  of  the  Darfs  gig. 

"  A  note  from  the  Captain,  my  lady.  He  was  par 
ticular  that  I  should  deliver  it  myself." 


In  Southampton.  265 

"  I  thought  you  had  sailed  by  this  time,"  said  Grace, 
taking  the  proffered  letter. 

"  Cable's  up  and  down,  my  lady.  Captain's  aboard. 
He  only  waited  for  this.  We  get  under  way  soon  as  I 
get  back." 

"  Is  there  an  answer  ?"  asked  Grace.  "  Stop  a  mo 
ment  !  "  But  the  man  had  gone.  She  took  the  note  to 
the  light  of  the  candle.  It  began  "  Dear  Herbert." 
She  looked  at  the  superscription.  It  was  addressed  to 
her  husband. 

"  Something  about  the  letter  for  Wycherleigh  per 
haps,"  she  thought  and  turned  the  paper  over  again. 
And  this  was  what  she  read, 

"  DEAR  HERBERT  : — 

"  I  shall  take  the  coach  to  Portsmouth  and  wait 
for  you  there  at  the  Bell.  If  I  go  on  board  here,  it 
might  get  to  her  ears.  Not  that  I  care,  but  you  are  so 
dreadfully  afraid  of  scandal.  I  shall  get  to  Ports 
mouth  before  you,  even  if  you  have  a  fair  wind,  and 
shall  be  all  ready  to  go  on  board  at  once  so  that  you 
will  not  be  delayed.  It  seems  almost  too  uncommon 
jolly  to  be  true.  How  well  you  have  managed  it ! 

"  Your  loving 

"  MAUD." 

Grace  read  this  epistle  slowly  a  second  time  ;  then 
held  fast  to  the  table  a  moment  and  looked  blankly  at 
the  poisonous  thing,  breathing  irregularly,  as  a  squirrel 
might  gaze  at  a  snake.  Before  the  reaction  came, 
there  was  another  knock  at  the  door.  She  called 
"  come  in,"  hoping  that  she  spoke  in  her  sleep,  and 
that  the  intruder  would  waken  her. 

"  The  same  man  is  here  again,  mem,"  said  the  maid. 
"  He  says  he  made  a  mistake  and  must  see  you  imme 
diately." 

"  Let    him    come    up  at    once,"  said  Grace,  rousing 


266  Smith   Brunt. 

herself  with  an  effort.  She  took  the  note  from  the 
table  ;  it  was  real.  Hurriedly  she  refolded  it.  When 
the  man  entered,  she  was  perfectly  calm. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  my  lady,  but  I've  made  a  mistake," 
began  the  seaman. 

"  So  I  see,"  interrupted  Grace  holding  out  the  note. 
"  This  is  addressed  to  Captain  de  Voe.  Take  it  to 
him  at  once." 

"  Yes,  my  lady,  thank  you,"  answered  the  man. 
"  This  here  note  was  the  one  for  you,  ma'am,"  and.  he 
held  out  another  addressed  to  Grace  in  her  husband's 
handwriting. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  said  Grace.  "  There  may  be  an 
answer — or  you  may  have  made  another  mistake." 

She  glanced  through  the  second  note  and  read, 

"  DEAR  GRACE  : — 

"  I  enclose  a  draft  of  Wycherleigh's  to  my  order 
endorsed  to  the  bankers  here  for  two  thousand  pounds. 
Deposit  it,  use  what  you  need  and  don't  be  squeamish 
about  it.  Give  the  note  I  left  with  you  to  the  bearer, 
and  don't  ask  any  questions.  I  sail  as  soon  as  McKew 
returns.  Sorry  I  had  no  time  to  come  myself,  but 
every  minute  is  taken  up.  Au  revoir. 

"  Lovingly, 

"Herbert." 

"  Here,"  said  Grace,  when  she  had  finished  reading, 
"  you  are  to  take  this,"  and  she  handed  to  the  seaman 
the  note  that  Herbert  had  left  in  her  care.  "  Now  go.'* 

The  man  scraped  his  foot,  pulled  his  forelock  and  de 
parted.  Grace  closed  the  door  behind  him  and  then 
sank  into  a  chair,  trembling  and  weak  after  the  strain 
of  her  acting.  Then  she  rose,  and  shook  herself,  in  a 
vague  hope  that  it  was  still  all  a  nightmare  from  which 
she  might  awake.  She  paced  the  floor,  and  twined  her 


In  Southampton.  267 

hands  in  her  hair  in  the  effort  to  collect  her  senses. 
But  the  thing  grew  more  and  more  terribly  real.  Sud 
denly  she  stopped  before  the  window,  and  looked  at 
the  lights  of  the  harbor.  Then,  catching  up  a  cloak, 
she  rushed  out  of  the  room,  down  the  stairs,  and  out 
into  the  street. 

Drawing  the  hood  over  her  dishevelled  head,  she 
hurried  on  towards  the  quay.  At  first  she  ran,  until 
her  breath  was  nearly  gone  and  she  had  reached  the 
crowded  part  of  the  town,  then  pressed  on  in  a  rapid 
half-walk,  half-trot.  As  she  came  out  from  the  narrow 
street  upon  the  broad  open  space  edged  by  the  quay, 
she  heard  shouts  and  curses,  and  halted  a  moment 
frightened  and  panting. 

Before  her,  at  the  boat-landing,  she  saw,  in  the  dark, 
a  struggling  mass  of  men,  and  from  the  sounds  per 
ceived  they  were  fighting.  Turning  aside  she  skirted 
along  the  houses  until  well  clear  of  the  brawlers,  and 
then  again  approached  the  quay  and  ran  along  it  look 
ing  for  a  boat.  She  spied  one  near  by,  moored  to  a 
float  on  which  stood  a  man  observing  the  progress  of 
the  fight.  Grace  ran  down  the  ladder  to  the  float,  and 
found  the  spectator  to  be  an  old  man  with  a  wooden 

leg. 

"  Do  you  own  this  boat?"  she  gasped,  startling  the 
one-legged  one  from  his  absorbing  contemplation  of 
the  combat. 

"  Aye,  lass,  that  I  do,"  was  the  answer.  "And  what 
would  ye  have  with  it  ?" 

"  Take  me  out  aboard  the  schooner  Dart.  Quickly," 
answered  Grace.  "  Do  you  know  her?  Has  she  sailed 
yet  ?  " 

"  The  schooner  Dart?  Aye,  I  know  her.  She's  not 
sailed  yet,  no,  lass,  and  if  she  do,  she  be  like  to  go  with- 


268  Smith   Brunt. 

out  some  of  her  lads  I'll  warrant.  The  bluejackets  be 
after  the  cursed  privateers  at  last,  and  lively  too. 
Look  to  that  now,"  and  the  old  man  pointed  at  the 
scrimmage  and  chuckled. 

"  Quickly,  quickly,"  cried  Grace.     "  Oh,  don't  stop." 

"  And  what  wouldst  do  aboard  the  Dart,  lass  ?  She 
be  all  short  and  ready,  and  they'll  hardly  be  lettin'  ye 
aboard  I'm  thinkin'.  Be  Jack  goin'  away  without  sayin' 
good-bye  to  ye  ?  Or  be  ye  maybe  goin'  for  help  ?  If 
'tis  that  ye  be  after,  I'll  not  take  ye." 

Grace  held  out  a  guinea  and  partially  drew  back 
her  hood. 

"I  am  Captain  de  Voe's  wife,  and  I  must  see  him  at 
once,"  she  said  imperiously.  "  Come  my  good  man, 
don't  stop  another  moment  please,  unless  you  wish 
me  to  take  some  one  else." 

The  old  man  took  the  guinea,  and  stared  at  that  face 
lovely  even  in  the  darkness  ;  then  touching  his  cap 
drew  the  boat  to  the  wharf  hurriedly. 

"  Beg  pardon,  ma'am,"  he  said.  "  Step  in  and  I'll 
have  you  out  in  a  jiffy.  Hopin'  you'll  forgive  me  for 
mistakin'  ye." 

As  they  shoved  off,  they  heard  a.  loud  cheer  from 
the  boat  landing,  and  derisive  yells  and  laughter. 
Looking  in  that  direction,  they  saw  the  dim  outline  of 
a  long  boat  shooting  rapidly  away  from  the  quay. 

"  They  be  got  away  I  declare  !  "  exclaimed  the  old 
boatman.  "Or  at  least  some  on 'em  has,  though  I'll 
warrant  now  there  be  more  than  one  broken  head. 
They  lads  be  some  of  the  Dart's  people,  ma'am.  'Twas 
a  press  fell  foul  of  'em.  They  don't  worry  me  now, 
they  press  gangs.  They  beant  lookin'  for  old  hulks 
like  me.  Though  I've  served  the  King  too  in  my  day, 
and  well  too.  I  was  with  Rodney  when — " 


In  Southampton.  269 

"  Oh  hurry,  hurry/'  pleaded  Grace.  "  That  boat  is 
out  of  sight  already." 

"Aye,  ma'am,  one  old  man  can't  row  so  fast  as  six 
or  eight  young  ones  ;  but  I'll  do  my  best  for  ye,"  and 
the  old  man  pulled  away  sturdily,  looking  now  and' 
then  over  his  shoulder. 

"That  be  her,"  he  ejaculated  after  a  little  while, 
jerking  his  head  over  his  right  shoulder,  and  turning 
the  boat  a  little  more  that  way.  Ahead  of  them  Grace 
could  see,  black  against  the  night  sky,  the  sails  of  a 
schooner  whose  hull  was  still  indistinguishable. 

"  Her  sails  are  both  up.  We  haven't  a  moment  to 
lose.  Pull  hard,  oh  pull  !  "  she  exhorted. 

Now  they  could  hear,  borne  on  the  wind,  the  click  of 
a  windlass.  Grace's  heart  sank  ;  for  she  had  been 
aboard  the  schooner  enough  to  recognize  the  sound. 
Just  as  the  hull  loomed  through  the  dark  but  a  few 
boat  lengths  away,  came  the  call  "All  aweigh  !  * 

"  Hail  him,  for  God's  sake,  hail  him,"  groaned  Grace, 
as  her  own  little  cry  lost  itself  pitifully  in  the  breeze. 

"Dart,  ahoy  !  "  shouted  the  old  man.  But  even  his 
voice  was  not  what  it  may  have  been  under  Rodney,  and 
his  hail  was  drowned  by  the  loud  orders,  "  Hoist  away 
your  jib,  draw  away  the  forestaysail,"  and  by  the 
flapping  of  the  head  sails  in  response.  Grace  heard 
the  creaking  rattle  of  the  blocks,  and  the  rub  of  the 
bridles  on  the  stay.  She  saw  the  dark  jib  climb  aloft. 
Slowly,  surely,  irresistibly,  as  though  it  would  crush 
out  her  life,  the  great  black  bow  payed  off  toward  her. 
She  stretched  out  her  hands  to  push  it  back  into  the 
wind.  Then  came  the  order  to  trim  the  mainsail,  and 
the  next  moment  the  Dart  was  dashing  off  under  full 
headway. 

"They  lousy  fore-and-afters  does  move  off  wonder- 


270  Smith  Brunt. 

ful  easy,"  observed  the  old  man.  "  I'll  warrant  she  be 
Yankee-built.  They  be  off  now,  sure  enough.  Shall  I 
go  back  now,  ma'am  ?  Anythin'  wrong,  ma'am  ?  I 
done  my  best  for  ye." 

Grace's  head  had  sunk  on  her  breast.  She  raised  it 
again  in  a  moment. 

"  It  is  not  your  fault,"  she  answered  hoarsely.  "  Yes, 
take  me  back." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

A  WOMAN  WITHOUT  A  COUNTRY. 

ON  a  seat  in  the  garden  of  Mrs.  Lee's  cottage  re 
clined    what    was  left    of    the    beautiful    Mrs. 
Herbert   de   Voe.     Beside    her    sat    the   kind-hearted 
proprietress  herself,  doing  her  best  to  comfort  the  hag 
gard  lady. 

"You've  had  a  bad  night,  I  fear,  my  dear.  It  do 
come  hard  at  first,  I  know,  but  don't  take  on  now. 
He'll  come  back,  that  he  will.  Why,  dear  heart,  my 
good  man  has  been  to  sea  for  thirty  years  and  he's 
come  back  every  time.  At  first  I  was  took  just  the 
way  you  be  ;  but  we  sailors'  wives  must  get  used  to  it, 
you  know,  and  the  good  Lord  helps  us.  We  love  our 
husbands  all  the  more  I'm  sure,  and  they  make  the 
more  of  us  when  they're  in  port,  so  mayhap  we  get  as 
much  comfort  in  the  long  run  as  do  wives  who  have  it 
spread  out  over  all  the  year  round.  My  man  was  away 
two  years  the  last  time,  along  of  his  getting  took  by 
they  plaguey  'Mericans.  They  got  the  brig  and  his 
whole  cargo  too,  the  beasts." 

Grace  smiled  faintly.  "  I  am  sorry  they  treated  him 
so  badly,  Mrs.  Lee,  but  I  suppose  that  is  all  a  part  of 
war.  I  am  an  American  myself,  you  know." 

"  You  ?  "  exclaimed  the  landlady.  "You  don't  mean 
it  !  Why,  but  you're  quite  the  lady.  Indeed,  my  dear, 
I  should  never  have  known  that  you  were  an  Ameri 
can  !  " 

271 


272  Smith   Brunt. 

Grace  was  used  to  this  sort  of  compliment,  and  did 
not  challenge  it,  knowing  that  to  do  so  would  be  a 
hopeless  task.  Bitterly  she  reflected  too  that  the  last 
remark  might  be  justified  by  better  reasons  than  Mrs. 
Lee's.  She  turned  the  subject  by  inquiring  the  way  to 
the  bank,  intending  to  deposit,  to  her  husband's  credit, 
Wycherleigh's  draft,  which  she  was  holding  listlessly  in 
her  hand.  Mrs.  Lee's  directions  were  cut  off  by  the 
appearance  of  the  maid  announcing, 

"A  gentleman  to  see  you,  mem." 

"Who  is  it?"  asked  Grace.  "Did  he  not  give  you 
his  card?" 

"  No,  mem.  I  don't  know,  mem.  He  just  asked  to 
see  you,  mem,  and  I  told  him  you  was  in." 

"  Go  back  and  ask  for  his  name,"  said  Grace.  The 
maid  turned  to  obey,  when  through  the  house  doorway 
leading  to  the  garden,  came  Hugh  Wycherleigh. 
Grace  started  and  bit  her  lip. 

"Here  he  is  himself,  mem,"  said  the  maid. 

"Why,  'tis  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  the  oldest  son  of  Sir 
Richard  to  Tormouth,"  spluttered  the  landlady,  much 
interested.  "  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Wycherleigh,"  she 
continued  with  a  bob.  "  How  is  Sir  Richard,  your 
father  ?  You  be  quite  a  stranger  in  Southampton 
now." 

"You  will  oblige  me  by  leaving  us  for  a  few  min 
utes,"  was  the  cordial  response. 

"You  will  oblige  me  by  doing  nothing  of  the  kind, 
Mrs.  Lee,"  interposed  Grace.  "  Pray  remain." 

"  Oh,  no,  madame,"  answered  Mrs.  Lee  earnestly. 
"  I  won't  intrude  for  a  moment,"  and  she  retreated 
hastily. 

"  To  what  am  I  indebted  for  this  unannounced  pleas 
ure  ? "  asked  Grace. 


A  Woman  without  a  Country.        273 

"  Only  to  a  most  unwitting  promise,  madame,  I  as 
sure  you,"  replied  Wycherleigh,  bowing  stiffly.  "  I 
engaged  to  deliver  this  note  never  dreaming  at  the 
time  for  whom  it  was  intended.  It  will  probably  be 
unnecessary  for  me  to  inform  you  that  I  am  ignorant 
of  the  contents.  Of  that  I  have  taken  the  risk  in  order 
to  keep  my  word."  So  saying  he  handed  Grace  a  note, 
and  turned  as  though  to  leave. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  she  asked  nervously. 
"What  is  this  ?  "  The  note  was  not  addressed. 

"I  have  said  I  do  not  know.  Permit  me  to  add, 
however,  that  when  I  disclosed  my  hapless  regard  for 
you,  I  was  not  aware  that  I  was  doing  myself  the  honor 
to  be  a  rival  of  Royalty.  No  wonder  poor  Hugh  Wy 
cherleigh  was  cast  aside  with  such  scorn.  But  'twas  a 
cruel  humor  to  have  pressed  my  humiliation  so  far  as 
to  make  me  a  messenger  in  the  affair.  Bear  me  wit 
ness  at  least  that  I  am  not  a  fool,  but  submit  to  the 
horrible  imposition  only  because  of  my  pledged  word. 
I  shall  never  trouble  you  with  my  poor  presence  again. 
Farewell,  madame." 

At  the  end  of  this  somewhat  histrionic  harangue,  he 
bowed  low,  and  was  walking  away,  when  Grace,  recov 
ering  by  an  effort  from  her  bewilderment,  cried, 

"  Stop  !  Stay  where  you  are  until  I  know  what  you 
are  talking  about." 

She  tore  open  the  letter.  It  was  an  invitation  to  the 
Pavilion,  the  palace  of  the  Regent  at  Brighton,  and 
summoned  Mrs.  de  Voe  only— not  her  husband.  Grace 
leaned  against  the  rustic  bench  and  stared  at  Wycher 
leigh  in  fright  and  amazement. 

"  You  have  made  some  mistake."  She  looked  again 
at  the  letter.  "  No— what  does  this  mean  ?  What 
have  you  been  raving  about?  Why  does  this  come  to 


274  Smith  Brunt. 

me  when  my  husband  is  away,  and  why  do  you  bring 
it?  Don't  stir  until  you  have  told  me." 

She  gasped  out  all  these  questions  without  stopping 
for  an  answer. 

"  How  can  I  tell  ?  "  replied  Wycherleigh.  "  I  have 
been  tricked  into  acting  as  footman  to  carry  this  letter, 
but  not  being  a  footman,  I  have  missed  the  advantage 
of  reading  it."  Then  with  a  sneer  that  burned  her 
through,  he  added,  "  I  only  know,  Mrs.  de  Voe,  that  it 
is  something  worth  two  thousand  pounds  to  your  good 
lord  and  master.  Of  that  information  at  least,  I  have 
been  endowed." 

«  Tell —  me  —  what  —  you  —  mean,"  repeated  Grace, 
grasping  the  back  of  the  bench  and  leaning  forward,  as 
she  uttered  this  command  slowly,  word  by  word. 
Then  she  added  fiercely,  "  If  you  dare,  and  if  you  are 
sane." 

Wycherleigh  looked  at  her  eagerly  as  though  with 
a  rising  hope. 

"  By  Heaven  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Are  you  only  act 
ing  ?  No,  I  won't  believe  it,  I  can't  believe  it.  You 
at  least,  are  innocent  of  the  whole  thing,  and  thank 
Heaven,  you're  angry.  Answer  me,  answer  me  truth 
fully.  .  Do  you  not  know,  did  he  not  tell  you  what  was 
in  the  note  you  sent  me  last  night  ?  " 

"Merely  its  nature,"  replied  Grace,  trembling.  "I 
knew  it  was  some  matter  concerning  you.  Further 
than  that  my  husband  did  not  tell  me,  and  of  course  I 
did  not  ask." 

"  The  hound  !  "  cried  Wycherleigh.  "  Then,  by 
G — ,  madame,  you  shall  know  all  that  I  know.  I  was 
asked  by  a  certain  high  personage  to  deliver  to  your 
husband  two  thousand  pounds.  The  draft  was  drawn 
to  me,  and  I  was  to  give  the  sum  to  him  by  my  own 


A  Woman  without  a  Country.         275 

draft.  In  return  I  was  to  receive  a  sealed  letter,  to  be 
opened,  however,  by  me  in  private.  Within  I  would 
find,  so  I  was  told,  the  name  and  address  of  a  person 
to  whom  I  was  to  deliver  the  note  I  have  just  given 
you.  In  my  innocence,  fool  that  I  was,  I  promised 
faithfully  to  do  so,  being  even  pleased  by  the  intimacy 
and  confidence  of  the  great  person,  and  his  trust  in  me 
in  a  matter  evidently  so  delicate.  Imagine  my  horror 
when,  on  opening  the  sealed  letter,  I  found,  in  your 
husband's  handwriting,  your  name  and  this  address, 
where,  he  wrote,  you  would  receive  any  communication. 
My  word  bound  me.  I  have  delivered  the  note. 
Grace,  Grace,  forgive  me  for  my  part  !  Forgive  me 
yet  more  for  thinking  for  an  instant  that  you  could 
listen  to  what  might  delight  many  another  woman. 
Tell  me  to  do  so  and  I  will  swear  to  revenge  you — aye, 
on  both,  though  I  hang  for  treason." 

Wycherleigh  finished  his  speech  in  passionate  tones, 
and  stepping  forward  tried  to  seize  Grace's  hand. 
She  drew  back  shuddering,  and  clasped  her  throat  for 
a  moment.  Had  she  been  a  heroine  in  a  play,  no  doubt 
she  would  have  delivered  a  diatribe  in  magnificent 
anger,  or  else  fallen  imploring  at  Wycherleigh's  feet : 
had  she  been  a  cool  and  clever  woman  of  the  world, 
she  would  have  remembered  that  Wycherleigh  was 
ignorant  of  the  tenor  of  the  note  in  her  hand,  or  pre 
tended  to  be,  and  had  therefore,  on  his  own  showing, 
terribly  insulted  her  husband  and  herself  on  a  guess, 
and  of  that  point  she  would  have  taken  full  advantage. 
But  being  neither  of  these  characters,  she  did  none  of 
these  things  ;  she  was  merely  a  broken-hearted  and 
horrified  young  wife,  with  nerves  weakened  by  the  first 
blow  and  shattered  by  this  the  quick  second,  and  with 
only  enough  sense  left  to  loathe  and  dread  the  serpent 


276  Smith   Brunt. 

before  her.  Wycherleigh  was  a  sufficient  judge  of 
character,  particularly  feminine  character,  to  know 
about  the  nerves  ;  he  had  counted  on  them  ;  but  like 
many  good  estimators  of  other  people,  he  had  not 
reckoned  on  the  effect  of  his  own  personality. 

What  the  poor  girl  did  was  to  gasp,  "  Don't  touch 
me  !  Don't  come  near  me  !  "  to  dash  the  note,  and  the 
hateful  draft  in  Wycherleigh's  face,  and  to  rush  past 
him  into  the  house. 

An  hour  later  a  boy  entered  the  taproom  of  the 
Nelson's  Head,  and  inquired  whether  the  Plymouth 
coach  had  yet  gone.  On  being  answered  in  the  nega 
tive  by  the  coachman  of  that  vehicle  himself,  who  was 
engaged  in  conversation  with  the  barmaid,  the  lad 
handed  to  him  a  letter  to  be  left  at  Tormouth. 

"Lieut.  Smith  Brunt,  eh  !  "  said  the  coachman, read 
ing  aloud  the  superscription.  "  That's  a  rum  name. 
'  Care  of  Sir  Richard  Wycherleigh,  Tormouth.'  All 
right,  my  son.  He'll  get  it." 

"Why  that  gentleman's  here  now,"  exclaimed  the 
presiding  deity  of  the  bar.  "  He's  the  American  gen 
tleman  what  come  last  night.  There  he  is  over  there 
now,  and  there  goes  Mr.  Thomas  Wycherleigh  too,  who 
come  with  him." 

Tom  had  just  entered,  hot  and  excited,  and  strode 
across  the  room  to  a  group  around  Smith  Brunt. 
Smith  looked  up  at  him  anxiously,  and  Tom  burst  out 
with  certain  terms  much  in  vogue  among  sea-faring 
men,  though  not  especially  technical. 

"  It's  just  as  I  feared,"  he  exclaimed.  "  There  was  a 
hot  press  last  night  from  the  Diana,  that  corvette  that 
sailed  early  this  morning,  and  it's  ten  to  one  they've 
got  him.  But  we  shall  get  him  back,  Smith,  I  swear. 
She's  gone  only  to  Downs.  I  know  her  skipper  and 


A  Woman  without  a  Country.          277 

I'll  lose  no  time  in  getting  word  to  him.  4My  word  of 
honor  is  involved  in  this  thing,  you  know.  Poor 
Hawkins  !  to  think  that  he  should  have  been  gobbled 
after  all.  By  George  !  I  wouldn't  have  had  it  happen 
for  anything." 

"  If  I  could  be  sure  you're  right,"  answered  Smith, 
"I  should  be  less  worried.  But  I  have  just  learned 
something  else  that  has  made  me  very  anxious.  The 
last  seen  of  him  was  while  we  were  at  supper  last  night. 
He  had  been  drinking  with  a  lot  of  men  here  in  the 
taproom  and  got  in  a  row  with  one  of  Bert  de  Voe's 
rascals.  De  Voe  sailed  from  this  port  soon  afterwards 
in  his  schooner.  Carm  followed  his  man  out  of  doors, 
and  nobody  knows  what  happened  after  that." 

"  The  red-headed  man,  sir,"  said  an  hostler,  who  was 
standing  by,  "he  went  off  somewhere  with  a  note,  sir. 
I  seen  Capting  de  Voe  give  it  to  him  and  tell  him  to 
go  quick.  Your  brother,  Mr.  Hugh,  was  there,  sir,"  he 
continued  to  Tom. 

"The  devil  he  was!"  ejaculated  Tom.  "I  didn't 
know  he  was  in  Southampton." 

"  Didn't  you  see  anything  of  Hawkins  then  ?  "  asked 
Smith. 

"  No,  sir.  Didn't  see  nobody  else,"  replied  the 
hostler. 

"I'll  hunt  up  Hugh  in  a  jiffy,"  cried  Tom.  "  He  al 
ways  stops  at  the  Ship.  Wonder  what  he's  doing  here 
now  !  Evidently  mixed  up  in  something  with  your 
friend  de  Voe.  I  shall  be  back  in  half  an  hour,"  and 
off  he  dashed. 

"Shall  I  notify  the  police  now,  sir?"  asked  the 
landlord. 

"I  think  we  must,"  replied  Smith  gloomily.  "I 
have  been  hoping  that  he  was  only  on  a  spree  and 


278  Smith   Brunt. 

would  turn  ^up  during  the  morning  ;  but  it  is  getting 
very  late  now." 

The  council  was  here  interrupted  by  the  boy  with 
the  note. 

"  Be  this  your  name,  sir  ?  "  inquired  the  lad,  holding 
out  the  note.  "  'Cos  if  you  be  him,  it's  for  you." 

Smith  took  the  note  remarking,  "  Yes,  I  be  him." 

Having  opened  and  read  it,  he  looked  at  the  messen 
ger  and  asked,  "  Who  brought  this  here  ?  " 

"  Me,"  responded  the  glad  expectant  youth  holding 
out  his  hand.  "  I  brought  it  for  post,  but  mun  said  as 
how  you  was  here,  so  there's  time  saved.  I  brought  it 
myself  for  you,  all  the  way  from  Mistress  Lee's." 

"  Very  well,  my  boy,"  answered  Smith,  acting  to  the 
extent  of  a  shilling  on  the  delicate  hint  of  the  out 
stretched  hand.  "  Now  show  me  the  way  back  to  Mis 
tress  Lee's.  If  Mr.  Wycherleigh  or  Mr.  Lawrence  re 
turn  before  I  do,"  he  added  to  the  landlord,  "  tell 
them  that  I  shall  be  back  shortly." 

In  the  parlor  of  Mrs.  Lee's  cottage,  after  sending 
up  his  name,  Smith  had  not  long  to  wait  before  Grace 
de  Voe  entered.  One  glance  at  her  face  told  him  that 
something  was  fearfully  wrong.  With  a  trembling,  ap 
pealing  sort  of  look  she  came  forward  and  held  out  her 
hand  to  this  man  at  whom  she  had  often  laughed  with 
Herbert  de  Voe,  and  at  whose  adoration  for  years  she 
had  been  amused  and  occasionally  bored.  If  there 
was  any  humiliation  in  seeking  his  aid  now,  it  could 
not  be  considered  in  her  helpless  agony.  Still  less  did 
any  thought  of  such  a  thing  enter  the  mind  of  that 
simple  gentleman. 

"  I  received  your  note  at  the  inn  before  it  was  sent 
from  there,"  he  explained.  "  I  have  come  to  give  the 


A  Woman  without  a  Coutnry.          279 

information  you  want,  and  to  see  whether  there  is  any 
thing  else  I  can  do  for  you." 

"  There  is  nothing  else,  thank  you,"  replied  Grace, 
though  the  mere  sight  of  his  brown  face  was  a  relief  to 
her,  like  fresh  air  to  one  who  has  been  breathing  foul. 
"  My  husband  has  gone  on  a  long  voyage,  and  I  have 
decided  to  go  back  to  my  father  for  the  present — if  I 
can.  I  hoped  you  might  be  able  to  tell  me  how  to  do 
it.  Sometimes  a  ship  goes  over  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
I  think  you  said  ?  You  are  going  home  in  that  way 
yourself,  are  you  not  ?  " 

"  A  cartel,"  answered  Smith.  "  Yes,  there  is  one  in 
the  harbor  now,  and  I  sail  on  her  to-night,  at  high 
water.  I  do  not  know  when  there  will  be  another,  but 
if  anybody  can  tell,  I  will  find  out.  You  see  the  ex 
changes  of  prisoners  are  usually  effected  somewhere  on 
the  other  side.  You  might  take  passage  in  a  West  In- 
diaman  to  Bermuda,  and  wait  there  for  a  chance  to  go 
home." 

"  Can  I  not  go  on  the  ship  on  which  you  sail  to 
night  ? "  asked  Grace. 

"  Of  course  you  can,"  cried  Smith,  delighted  as  he 
thought  of  poor  old  Temble,  "  if  you  are  ready  to  leave 
so  soon.  Indeed,  you  shall  if  you  want  to,  for  Teddy 
and  I  have  a  stateroom,  and  we  can  give  you  that  any 
way,  even  if  there  is  no  other.  We  can  sling  hammocks 
anywhere.  But  the  quarters  are  small  for  a  lady,"  he 
added  dubiously.  "  And  I  hardly  think  there  will  be 
any  other  woman  aboard.  I  am  afraid  you  would 
be  rather  lonely  and  uncomfortable." 

"  Is  she  an  American  ship  ?"  asked  Grace. 

"Yes.  The  Queen,  of  Baltimore.  Captain  Blakely 
of  the  Wasp,  sent  her  here  with  the  prisoners  he  has 
taken  lately,  for  three  of  whom  we  were  exchanged. 


280  Smith  Brunt. 

She  takes  home  besides  us,  half  a  dozen  merchant 
men." 

"  If  they  are  my  own  countrymen,  I  am  perfectly  sat 
isfied,"  replied  Grace.  "  I  shall  be  as  well  cared  for 
as  in  my  father's  house — and  as  safe." 

"  Oh,  of  course  you'll  be  perfectly  safe,"  replied 
Smith.  "  She's  under  a  cartel  you  know,  so  that  no 
privateer  will  dare  to  trouble  her,  and  as  for  her  sea 
worthiness,  she  appears  to  be  perfectly  well  rigged  and 
manned." 

Grace  looked  at  the  young  officer  a  moment  with  a 
curious,  quivering  smile  ;  then  to  his  utter  consterna 
tion,  put  her  hands  to  her  face  and  burst  into  tears. 
Smith  rose  and  stood  before  her,  feeling  as  painfully 
helpless  as  a  man  always  does  in  such  a  situation.  In 
a  very  few  moments,  however,  she  recovered  herself  and 
drying  her  eyes,  said, 

"  Please  excuse  me,  Mr.  Brunt,  my  nerves  have  been 
strained  a  good  deal  lately,  and  I  am  very  foolish. 
Will  you  ask  the  master  whether  he  can  take  me  ? '' 
she  continued,  rising.  "  Let  me  know  his  answer, 
please,  as  soon  as  possible,  and  at  what  time  I  must  be 
on  board." 

"  I  shall  do  so  at  once,"  answered  Smith,  moving 
toward  the  door,  "  but  of  course  he'll  consent."  As  he 
reached  the.  door  he  turned,  and  added  pleadingly,  "  If 
there  is  any  other  possible  thing  that  I  can  do  for  you. 
you'll  let  me  know,  won't  you  ?  Promise  me  you  will." 

"  I  promise,"  replied  Grace,  smiling.  "  You  do  not 
know  how  much  you  have  done  for  me  already." 
Highly  puzzled  by  this  remark  Smith  departed,  and 
Grace  went  up  to  her  room. 

"  Mrs.  Lee,"  she  said  later,  when  that  good  matron 
expressed  her  surprise  and  horror  at  the  announce- 


A  Woman  without  a  Country.         281 

ment  of  Grace's  intention  to  return  to  her  own  coun 
try,  "you  yourself  naturally  have  a  grudge  against  my 
countrymen  ;  you  will  probably  hear  and  say  many 
hard  things  about  them,  just  as  they  do  of  your  people, 
most  of  which  things  are  generally  false  and  unde 
served  on  both  sides  ;  but  whatever  you  may  hear, 
please  remember  one  thing,  which  no  one  can  ever 
gainsay, — among  the  Americans,  woman  is  sacred." 

And  Smith  Brunt  who  had  accomplished  the  desire 
of  two  years,  did  he  rejoice  over  that  fact  as  he  re 
turned  to  the  Nelson's  Head  ?  A  little,  yes  ;  for  a  mo 
ment  he  thought  with  great  satisfaction  of  Mr.  Temble, 
and  then  put  it  all  out  of  his  mind  and  worried  himself 
about  the  disappearance  of  Carman  Hawkins,  who  was 
more  to  him  than  a  thousand  Tembles,  father  or 
daughter. 

At  the  inn  he  found  Tom  Wycherleigh  in  no  pleasant 
frame  of  mind.  Tom  had  found  his  brother  Hugh  about 
to  leave  on  the  coach,  and  had  asked  him  at  once  about 
de  Voe's  seaman..  Hugh  had  replied  tartly  that  he 
knew  nothing  about  him,  and  gratuitously  intimated 
that  his  own  affairs  with  de  Voe  were  no  business  of 
Tom's.  Whereat  the  naval  officer  had  opened  on  his 
elder  brother  with  every  gun  in  his  broadside.  He  de 
clared  that  he  did  not  care  a  [penny,  let  us  say,  it  was 
even  less]  whether  it  was  his  business  or  not,  that 
he  suspected  some  rascality  on  the  part  of  one  of  the 
[spiritually  lost]  pirates  in  de  Voe's  crew,  that  he 
meant  to  chase  it  down  and  if  Hugh  could  help  him  he 
ought  to  do  it  and  not  be  so  [very,  very]  surly,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  The  result  was  that  the  brothers  parted  in 
the  squall,  and  Tom  got  no  information. 

"  But  there's  not  the  least  doubt  in  my  mind  that 
Hawkins  is  on  the  Diana"  Tom  continued.  u  He 


282  Smith   Brunt. 

couldn't  have  been  scuttled  here  in  Southampton  and 
no  one  have  found  it  out  by  this  time,  you  know."  In 
which  observation  there  seemed  much  truth, — still 
more  as  the  day  wore  on,  and  the  search  of  the  police 
disclosed  no  clue  except  that  the  press  gang  had  been 
active  and  close  to  the  inn.  At  the  hour  of  sailing 
Smith  had  to  go  on  board  in  a  very  different  mood 
from  that  in  which  he  had  expected  to  sail  for  home. 

"  Oh,  I  say,  Smith,"  quoth  Tom  Wycherleigh,  who 
had  come  aboard  to  spend  the  last  minute  with  his  de 
parting  friend  and  enemy.  "  You're  going  to  have 
uncommon  good  company,  by  Jove,  you  are.  Did  you 
know  Mrs.  de  Voe  was  on  board  ? " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Smith,  quietly.  "  Her  husband  had 
to  go  on  a  long  voyage,  and  she  has  taken  this  oppor 
tunity  to  visit  her  father  at  home." 

"  Good-bye,  Ted,"  cried  Tom,  as  he  went  over  the 
side.  "  I  am  going  to  catch  you  again,  and  make  a 
Britisher  out  of  you  yet.  Remember  me  to  your  friend, 
Mr.  Farragut,  when  you  see  him.  Good-bye,  old 
Yankee,"  he  continued  as  he  gripped  Smith's  hand. 
"  Let's  try  hard  to  meet  again  after  this  mill,  and  not 
before." 

"  If  we  do  meet  before  that,  Tom,  I  hope  to  turn  the 
tables  and  do  as  handsomely  by  you,  as  you've  done  by 
me,"  said  Smith,  returning  the  pressure. 

"  No,  you  don't,"  laughed  the  young  Englishman. 
"  I  can't  trust  my  luck  a  third  time,  you  know.  I'd 
rather  wait  till  peace  is  declared,  thank  you."  And  he 
ran  down  the  side  ladder,  and  waved  his  hand  as  he 
was  rowed  shoreward. 

Sailing  down  Southampton  Water  Smith  leaned  over 
the  rail  and  smoked  long  and  thickly  over  many  things. 
First  and  deepest  he  thought  of  Carman  Hawkins,  his 


A  Woman  without  a  Country.         283 

friend  from  earliest  boyhood,  between  whom  and  himself 
existed  an  affection  never  lessened  by  the  difference  in 
their  position  and  education.  What  was  he  to  say  to 
Aunt  Hepsy  this  time  ? 

Then  there  was  the  poor  girl  below,  whose  evident 
suffering  distressed  him  keenly.  Of  what  her  trouble 
might  be,  he  of  course  had  no  knowledge,  but  felt  sure 
that  it  was  caused  in  some  way  by  her  husband,  and 
ground  his  teeth  at  the  suspicion, 

To  these  succeeded  pleasanter  thoughts,  of  home, 
and  his  father,  and  the  return  to  active  service.  Yet 
even  these  he  found  somewhat  alloyed,  and  as  the 
shores  of  England  faded  out  in  the  darkness,  he  drew 
forth  a  rose  and  looked  at  it  almost  mournfully.  Then 
he  became  more  cheerful,  and  even  laughed  softly  to 
himself  as  he  recalled  the  little  bright  conceits  and 
merry  ways.  And  now  for  a  while,  he  gave  way  utterly 
to  the  same  delightful  idea  with  which  he  had  wrestled 
on  the  last  night  at  Wycherleigh  House.  Reason  he 
shoved  below,  and  clapped  on  the  hatches.  He  did 
not  think  of  his  plain  face  ;  he  did  not  calculate  the 
pay  of  a  navy  officer  ;  he  did  not  compare  his  single 
epaulette  with  a  coronet,  nor  the  house  on  the  bare 
Long  Island  shore  with  that  in  the  English  Park.  Or 
if  he  did  reflect  on  these  things,  he  somehow  found  no 
terrors  in  them.  He  let  his  meditation  fly,  and 
imagined  to  himself  a  future.  Yet  there  was  a  marked 
difference  between  his  present  visions,  and  those  of  the 
days  when  he  had  suffered  his  boyish  fancy.  He  con 
jured  now  no  dreams  of  romantic  rescues  and  glorious 
deaths  for  the  sake  of  Dulcinea.  No  ;  he  pictured  this 
Dulcinea  pouring  out  coffee  at  his  breakfast  table  ;  he 
heard  her  merry  laugh  in  the  old  house  at  Bayhamp- 
ton  ;  again  he  saw  her  petting  the  village  children  and 


284  Smith  Brunt. 

playing  like  a  sunbeam  around  her  father's  white  head, 
and  he  longed  to  gather  that  sunshine  to  his  own  lonely 
father  and  himself— the  selfish  brute.  "  No,"  he 
thought,  "  she  would  never  leave  her  charge  ;  but  then, 
poor  old  Sir  Richard  can  not  need  her  much  longer." 

He  looked  smilingly  at  the  rose  that  he  held  in  his 
hand.  "  If  it  were  not  for  Carm,"  he  thought,  "  I 
would  verily  believe  that  you  had  changed  my  luck, — 
and  Carm  may  turn  up  yet." 

Then  as  he  gazed  at  the  flower,  he  saw  again  the 
face  of  Edith  Wycherleigh,  as  she  looked  at  him  on  the 
terrace.  Suddenly  there  came  over  him  a  tremendous 
longing  (an  idea  that  had  really  never  occurred  to  him 
in  the  early  dream),  a  longing  to  seize  that  sprightly 
little  figure  in  his  arms,  and  cover  that  face  with  kisses. 

Oho !  Smith  Brunt,  you  are  getting  on  ! 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

HOME  AGAIN. 

THE  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  was  uneventful  save 
for  two  small  incidents  at  its  close.  Though 
slight  in  themselves  these  two  events  impressed  Smith 
with  a  bitter  sense  of  the  progress  of  the  war — a  war 
upon  which,  nowadays,  we  are  apt  to  look  back  with 
complacency  and  characterize  with  our  charming  mod 
esty  as  "  the  second  time  we  licked  England."  Twice, 
once  within  sight  of  Montauk  and  again  close  to  the 
Jersey  beach,  was  the  cartel  brought  to  and  examined 
by  a  British  cruiser. 

On  arriving  at  New  York,  it  was  decided  that  Grace 
should  remain  aboard  until  Smith  should  find  Mr. 
Terrible  and  prepare  him  for  his  daughter's  coming. 
Landing  at  the  Battery,  Smith  took  his  way  through 
the  familiar  park  to  the  house  he  had  so  often  visited 
with  thoughts  very  different  from  those  now  in  his 
mind.  He  smiled  sadly,  as  he  thought  how  that  boy 
ish  idol  had  been  dashed  from  the  niche,  and  how  the 
resulting  sorrow  was  not  for  himself  now,  but  for  the 
idol.  Before  he  could  ring,  the  door  was  opened  by 
the  old  negro  servant  who  began  in  a  solemn  tone  to 
say,  "  Mr.  Temble  am  not  so  well  to-day,  sir.  Why, 
Mr.  Brunt,  am  that  you  ?  We  thought  you  were  in 
foreign  parts,  sir,  or  maybe  daid.  Powerful  glad  to 
see  you,  sir." 


286  Smith   Brunt. 

"  I  have  just  come  home,  George.  But  what  do  you 
mean  by  saying  that  Mr.  Temble  is  not  so  well  ?  Is 
he  ill?" 

The  old  butler  looked  still  more  solemn. 

"  He  'm  ver'  sick  indeed,  sir.  We  'm  'fraid  there  am 
no  hope." 

"  Can  I  see  him  ?  "   asked  Smith  anxiously. 

"  I  don't  believe  you  cain,  sir.  Nobody  sees  him 
'ceptin'  the  doctor.  He's  here  now.  I'll  ask  him." 

After  a<i  interview  with  the  physician,  Smith  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  room  where  lay  poor  old  Temble.  The 
latter  turned  his  head  as  the  young  man  entered, 
raised  his  hand  slightly  in  token  of  recognition,  and 
then  let  it  fall  again  on  the  coverlid.  Smith  advanced 
quietly  to  the  foot  of  the  bed. 

"  Well,  young  gentleman,"  murmured  the  sick  man 
feebly.  "  Are  you  ready  yet  to  look  for  my  schooner  ? 
Or  are  you  still  bound  to  the  flag  ? " 

"  I  have  found  your  schooner,  Mr.  Temble,"  answered 
Smith  gently.  "  Everything  is  all  right." 

The  old  man  strained  his  head  forward  from  the 
pillow,  and  his  dull  eyes  lightened  as  they  searched 
Smith's  countenance.  Then  he  motioned  for  the  nurse 
to  leave  the  room. 

"  Now  tell  me  what  I  want  to  know  most  and  tell  me 
the  truth, — you  are  talking  to  a  dying  man." 

"  Your  daughter,  Mrs.  de  Voe^  is  alive  and  well," 
said  Smith  slowly  and  with  emphasis. 

"  Thank  God  !  "  exclaimed  the  old  man,  and  dropped 
his  head  back  on  the  pillow.  "  Now  the  rest.  Where 
is  she  ?  " 

"  I  met  her  in  England,"  replied  Smith  evasively. 
Then  in  a  few  words  he  delivered  the  message  he  had 
received  in  England.  At  the  close  he  paused, 


Home  Again.  287 

"  Why  does  she  not  come  back  to  me  ?  "  plained  the 
thin  voice.  "  What  do  they  fear  ?  Oh,  Lord,  spare  me 
till  she  comes." 

"  She  has  come,  sir,"  said  Smith,  who  had  been 
waiting  for  this.  "  She  will  be  here  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  Then  go  and  tell  her  to  hurry.  Why  do  you  stand 
here  ?  Go,  go  !  " 

With  this  benediction  Smith  retired,  and  hastened  to 
the  Battery  wharf.  At  the  ship's  side  he  found  Grace 
cloaked  and  ready,  squired  by  Teddy,  who  was  hopping 
about  the  deck  in  impatience  to  land.  The  midship 
man  went  with  the  baggage  to  the  City  Hotel,  while 
Smith  took  Grace  to  her  father's  house.  Having  con 
signed  her  to  the  nearly  paralyzed  George,  he  turned 
to  descend  the  stoop  and  almost  ran  into  a  man  who 
was  ascending  and  intent  upon  his  card-case, — evi 
dently  a  visitor  to  inquire  after  the  invalid.  Smith 
stood  still  and  waited,  much  amused,  for  the  caller  to 
raise  his  head.  Then  saluting,  he  said,  "  Come  on 
board,  sir." 

The  visitor,  one  Captain  David  Porter,  nearly  tum 
bled  down  the  stoop.  When  he  had  recovered  from 
his  astonishment  and  left  his  card,  he  tucked  his  arm 
through  Smith's  and  walked  with  his  long  lost  officer 
to  the  hotel.  On  the  way  he  told  how  they  had  come 
home  in  the  Essex  Junior  and  been  detained  off  the 
Long  Island  beach  by  an  English  frigate,  in  violation 
of  the  parole  ;  how  he  had  told  the  English  Captain 
that  he  would  consider  himself  at  liberty  to  escape  if 
held  over  night,  and  in  the  morning  had  sailed  ashore 
in  his  gig,  landed  through  the  surf  and  crossed  the  bay 
to  Babylon,  and  had  found  the  others  in  New  York, 
the  Englishman  having  thought  better  of  the  matter. 

Smith    recounted    all    his    experiences    and    also  the 


288  Smith   Brunt. 

latest  news  of  the  gallant  little  Wasp  ;  how  she  was  still 
harrying  the  English  Channel,  and  just  before  he  left 
had  sunk  the  Avon  in  sight  of  two  other  British  men-of- 
war.  The  story  of  her  capture  of  the  Reindeer  had 
already  reached  home. 

"  I'm  glad  there  are  one  or  two  bright  spots  in  this 
year,"  quoth  Porter,  "for  Heaven  knows  we  have  not 
much  to  boast  of  here  except  the  Champlain  fight.  I 
have  just  got  back  from  the  Chesapeake  where  the  Brit 
ishers  have  been  raising  the  deuce's  own  delight." 
Then  he  told  Smith  of  the  burning  of  Washington  and 
the  operations  around  the  Patuxent  where,  as  he 
expressed  it,  "  The  valiant  citizen  soldiery  ran  away 
every  time  they  got  a  glimpse  of  a  bayonet,  and  finally 
left  poor  old  Barney  with  about  four  hundred  sailor- 
men  and  marines  to  stand  off  a  couple  of  thousand 
British  regulars.  A  hundred  of  our  lads  were  killed," 
said  he,  "  and  old  Commodore  Josh  himself  got  shot  in 
the  leg,  and  captured  ;  but  they  laid  out  nearly  three 
hundred  of  the  enemy.  We  drove  them  back  from 
Baltimore  and  there  has  been  a  great  cockawhoop  over 
that,  but  there  was  really  more  noise  there  than  fight 
ing.  Rodgers  and  I  did  our  best  to  cut  off  their 
retreat  ;  but  what  could  we  do  with  those  cursed  ad 
ministration  gunboats  ?  I  hope  I  shall  never  have  to 
set  foot  on  the  things  again.  But  now  lad,"  he  contin 
ued,  "  there  is  a  prospect  of  more  seamanly  work,  and 
you  shall  bear  a  hand  in  it.  You  have  come  home  just 
in  time.  We  are  fitting  out  a  fleet  of  small  craft,  to 
operate  probably  in  the  West  Indies,  and  I  am  to  have 
command  of  it.  I  shall  try  to  get  you  one  of  the 
schooners.  I  am  pushing  the  work  as  fast  as  I  can, 
and  am  very  glad  you  have  turned  up  to  help  me. 
With  such  craft  we  can  easily  get  through  the  block- 


Home  Again.  289 

ade,  so  we  shall  soon  again  be  at  sea  and  doing.  How 
does  that  strike  you  ?  " 

Smith's  eyes  sparkled  at  the  prospect  of  getting  into 
action  again  under  his  old  captain  ;  and  the  suggestion 
of  a  little  ship  of  his  own  seemed  almost  too  good  to  be 
true.  After  an  hour  more  of  conversation  Captain 
Porter  went  off  to  inspect  a  ridiculous  newfangled  de 
vice  that  was  nearly  ready  for  launching,  a  man-of-war 
intended  to  go  by  steam,  a  most  absurd  idea.  "  Bad 
enough,"  he  growled,  "  to  ask  a  naval  officer  to  go  to 
sea  at  all  in  a  tea-kettle,  without  expecting  him  take 
the  infernal  thing  into  action." 

Smith  went  again  to  Mr.  Temble's  house  to  see 
whether  he  could  do  anything  further  for  Grace. 
There  he  learned  from  the  doctor  that  Grace  had  ar 
rived  just  in  time  ;  for  the  old  gentleman's  case  was 
hopeless.  He  therefore  determined  to  postpone  his  re 
turn  to  his  own  father,  feeling  it  his  duty  to  remain 
within  call  of  the  poor  girl  until  the  end  ;  so  he  sent 
Teddy  home  with  the  news  of  his  arrival  and  the  rea 
son  of  his  detention  in  New  York. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  Master  Teddy  when  he  ar 
rived  in  Bayhampton.  Pride  and  the  fatted  calf  com 
bined  to  swell  him  to  abnormal  proportions  ;  but  the 
chief  factor  in  the  occasion  was  the  joy  that  he 
brought,  a  joy  that  may  well  be  imagined  when  it  is 
remembered  that  no  news  of  the  wanderers  had  come 
since  Captain  Porter's  arrival.  After  the  immediate 
celebration,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  and  Captain  Brunt 
hurried  to  New  York,  the  latter  to  see  his  son,  and  the 
kind  hearted  couple  to  look  after  the  poor  girl  who  was 
awaiting  the  death  of  her  father.  So  Mr.  Midshipman 
Lawrence  was  left  alone  in  his  glory  as  a  returned 
hero,  to  hold  forth  in  the  store  long  after  his  former 


290  Smith  Brunt. 

bedtime,  and  help  himself  to  all  the  raisins  and  ginger- 
snaps  he  could  eat,  without  restraint  from  Captain 
Smith  Howell  the  storekeeper.  The  only  alloy  in  his 
delight  was  the  absence  of  Carman  Hawkins  and  the 
duty  of  telling  Aunt  Hepsy  about  it.  The  old  Puri 
tan  took  the  news  grimly  as  usual,  however,  only  re 
marking  that  the  Lord  would  do  what  was  best. 

The  meeting  between  Smith  and  his  father  was 
equally  joyful  as  Teddy's  homecoming,  though  with  no 
mince-pie  in  it.  Captain  Brunt  put  up  at  the  Hotel, 
while  the  Lawrences  at  Grace's  request  remained  at 
Mr.  Temble's  house.  The  end  came  about  a  week 
after  their  arrival.  All  New  York  turned  out  at  the 
funeral,  partly  in  recognition  of  poor  old  Temble's 
many  dinners,  and  principally  to  see  Grace,  the  news  of 
whose  resurrection  had  spread  rapidly  and  set  the 
town-  in  a  twitter.  From  the  flood  of  condolence  and 
curiosity  she  fled  soon  after  the  funeral,  with  the  Law 
rences  to  Bayhampton. 

Smith  found  Captain  Porter's  word  good,  and  before 
he  left  New  York  received  the  command  of  the  lo-gun 
schooner  Flame,  one  of  Porter's  squadron.  The  first 
thing  to  do  was  to  get  a  crew,  and  he  knew  exactly 
where  to  do  that.  Back  to  the  old  village  on  the 
Great  South  Bay  he  went  with  his  father,  and  set  to 
work  recruiting  all  over  Suffolk  County  and  Queens. 

To  command  a  crew  of  his  own  people  had  long 
been  one  of  Smith's  brightest  dreams,  and  he  now 
worked  enthusiastically  to  make  that  dream  a  reality. 
He  had  experienced  the  extremes  of  a  good  crew  and  a 
bad  one,  and  meant  to  have  his  schooner  no  second 
Chesapeake,  but  a  little  Essex  or  even  better  if  such  a 
thing  could  be.  Some  of  his  brother  officers  had 
questioned  the  possibility  of  raising  a  crew  on  Long 


Home  Again.  291 

Island,  and  the  advisability  of  doing  so,  even  if  possi 
ble. 

"  Every  man  will  want  to  be  captain,"  was  the  warn 
ing  constantly  repeated  to  him.  But  he  had  heard  that 
statement  many  times  before  about  his  neighbors,  and 
laughed.  "  A  crew  of  captains  is  not  such  a  bad 
thing,"  he  would  reply,  "  if  only  you  know  how  to 
manage  them.  As  long  as  I  am  every  man's  second 
choice  I  shall  always  have  an  overwhelming  majority  at 
my  back." 

"  You  won't  be  able  to  ship  enough  to  man  a  dinghy," 
one  man  said  to  him.  "  With  all  due  respect  to  you, 
there  is  not  a  spark  of  spunk  on  Long  Island.  They 
are  all  too  confoundedly  slow  or  lazy  or  careful  of  their 
skins.  You  can  never  make  man-o'-warsmen  out  of  that 
lot.  Several  of  us  tried  and  had  to  give  it  up  in  the 
very  beginning." 

<(  The  '  beginning'  was  the  very  worst  time  to  try," 
chuckled  Smith.  "  That  is  all  you  know  about  us. 
The  trouble  with  you  fellows  is  that  you  get  out  of  pa 
tience  before  you  find  out  what  there  is  in  a  Long  Is 
lander.  Our  people  never  act  in  a  hurry,  I  admit ; 
they  *  ain't  never  itchin'  for  glory,'  and  won't  fight  for 
fun  ;  but  when  sure  they're  needed,  they'll  come  to 
quarters,  and  '  calculate  to  stay  there.'  It  will  be 
much  easier  to  get  men  on  the  Island  now  than  at  first, 
for  by  this  time  I  rather  think  our  folks  are  beginnin' 
'  to  git  a  mad  on.'  " 

And  so  Smith  found  it.  The  war  had  now  dragged 
on  for  over  two  years;  the  excitement  of  the  first  bril 
liant  victories  had  worn  off  ;  the  little  navy  was  almost 
entirely  blocked  up  in  port ;  the  coasts  were  being 
ravaged  ;  the  boasted  invasion  of  Canada  had  twice 
flared  and  pitiably  fizzled  out ;  commerce  was  at  a  com- 


292  Smith   Brunt. 

plete  standstill.  Except  for  the  small  land  battles, 
which  were  at  last  creditable  to  us,  the  only  light  in  the 
gloom  of  1814  was  the  great  fight  on  Lake  Champlain 
and  the  performances  of  the  little  Wasp  and  Peacock. 
The  two  sloops  enabled  us  to  continue  bragging  and 
hurt  the  enemy's  commerce,  but  beyond  that  brought 
us  no  relief;  and  young  McDonough's  victory, while  of 
great  strategical  importance  on  the  Northern  frontier, 
did  not  perceptibly  influence  the  situation  on  the  At 
lantic  coast.  As  the  rest  of  the  country  wearied  of 
this  state  of  affairs,  old  slow  Long  Island  warmed  up. 
Her  means  of  livelihood  were  largely  destroyed.  The 
oyster  industry  was  fatally  crippled,  for  no  boat  could 
show  her  stem  out  of  the  inlet,  without  drawing  the 
fire  of  a  British  cruiser.  Trade  across  the  Eastern  end 
of  the  Sound  was  similarly  precarious,  so  that  the  mar 
kets  of  New  London  and  Newport  were  shut  to  us. 
The  whalers  of  Sag  Harbour  were  all  captured,  or  fast  to 
the  docks,  or  scattered  in  foreign  ports  unable  to  get 
home.  Even  fishing  through  the  surf  included  the 
chance  of  playing  whale  to  a  man-o'-war's  boat.  The 
British  cruisers  sailed  into  the  Sound  and  sometimes 
landed  men  at  the  North  side  villages.  War  had  come 
fiercely  to  the  poor  old  sand  bar  ;  but  it  roused  the 
quiet  sand  dwellers.  If  they  were  slow  to  rise  they 
were  slower  to  lie  down.  Indeed  Smith  could  have 
had  a  crew  in  a  very  short  time  had  he  been  willing  to 
take  it  all  from  the  first  that  offered.  But  he  did  noth 
ing  of  the  kind.  A  picked  crew  was  what  he  sought, 
and  he  cruised  about  from  village  to  village  in  search 
of  the  men  he  wanted.  He  understood  the  Long  Is 
land  character  well  enough  to  covet  many  of  the  ap 
parently  most  reluctant,  and  would  spend  hours  over 
some  cautious  soul  whose  calculating  prudence  to  a 


Home  Again.  293 

stranger  would  have  seemed  downright  cowardice. 
But  Smith  knew  weli  that  such  men,  once  shipped, 
would  stand  by  the  last  two  planks  that  held  together. 
He  had  never  done  this  before,  for  in  the  beginning  of 
the  war  he  had  not  felt  justified  in  overpersuading  any 
man.  It  had  been  unnecessary  in  the  first  excitement. 
Now,  however,  the  rush  of  volunteers  from  other  parts 
had  ceased  ;  the  real  need  of  the  country  had  come, 
and  stood  before  all  other  considerations.  Yet  even 
now  Smith  never  attempted  to  draw  away  any  man 
who  had  women  or  children  dependent  upon  him.  He 
had  seen  enough  of  the  home  end  of  war  to  know  that 
fathers  and  husbands  belonged  in  the  watch  below  ; 
and  it  was  not  yet  time  to  call  all  hands. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  hunt  up  an  Islip  man 
who  had  served  a  long  time  in  the  navy  and  had  been 
on  the  first  Wasp.  He  found  him  at  the  Brooklyn 
Navy  Yard,  and,  by  Porter's  aid,  got  him  placed  on  the 
Flame  to  act  as  gunner.  For  boatswain  he  secured  an 
old  boatswain's-mate  of  the  Essex,  so  he  had  veterans 
in  the  most  important  places.  He  began  his  crimping 
in  Bayhampton,  where  he  got  as  a  nucleus  three  or  four 
first-rate  men,  including  Raynor  Terry.  Raynor,  having 
at  one  time  driven  the  stage  on  the  North  Country 
Road,  knew  people  in  every  North  Side  village  and  was 
therefore  invaluable  in  getting  men  from  that  part  of 
the  Island.  Among  the  idle  whalers  of  the  East  End 
was  most  of  the  deep-sea  material  ;  but  in  a  fore-and- 
after  the  other  Long  Islanders  were  equally  capable 
and  Smith  did  not  by  any  means  confine  himself  to  the 
peninsulas.  Every  place  from  Oyster  Ponds  and 
Amagansett  to  Great  Neck  and  Rockaway  he  visited, 
and  even  took  a  few  men  from  the  brush.  Raynor 
Terry,  with  the  usual  bayman's  prejudice,  growled 


294  Smith   Brunt. 

about  Coram  cow  drivers;  but  Smith  laughed  at  him 
and  said  that  the  middle  island  men  would  probably 
learn  their  duty  faster  than  the  North  and  South  Siders 
because  they  would  not  be  so  confoundedly  conceited. 
When  "  Captain  "  Brunt  had  at  last  made  up  his  com 
plement,  his  muster  roll  showed  how  he  had  ran 
sacked  both  counties.  The  forecastle  poet  summed 
it  up  as  follows  : 

Ackerly,  Avery,  Benjamin,  Brown, 
Bartovv  and  Bishop  to  Brookhaven  Town  ; 
Carman  and  Chichester,  Cooper  and  Clock, 
A  Conklin,  a  Corwin,  a  Cocks  or  a  Cox ; 
Doxsee  and  Dominy  made  up  the  D's  ; 
Edwards  he  stood  all  alone  for  the  E's  ; 
Foster  and  Fordham,  Floyd  and  Gerard, 
And  Griffin  won't  rhyme,  try  you  ever  so  hard. 
And  now  again  so  many  H's  there  be 
I  can't  steer  the  course  alphabetically, 
So  I'll  twist  'em  and  turn  'em  the  best  I  can  do — 
A  Roman,  a  Hulse,  and  a  Havens  or  two, 
Ketcham,  and  Jagger  and  Will  L'Hommedieu, 
Pelletreau,  Pierson,  and  Overtoil,  too, 

Snedecor,  Swezey,  and  Seaman  were  there, 

Sarnmis  and  Randal  and  Ryder  and  Sayre. 

Tuthill  or  Tuttle,  whichever  you  please, 

Terry  and  Topping  come  under  the  T's. 

Robins  and  Rogers,  Verity,  Vail, 

Youngs,  he  and  Scudder  from  Queens'  County  hail. 

Weeks  (that  in  Suffolk  is  generally  Wicks), 

Jackson  and  Underbill,  Pearsall  and  Hicks. 

Hallock  and  Halsey  came  out  of  the  East, 

A  Reeves  and  a  Reeve,  and  three  Raynors  at  least, 

Monsel  and  Moger,  and  Loper  and  Lane, 

Huntting  and  Miller,  and  Penny  and  Payne, 

Hildreth  and  Squires,  and  Petty  and  Post, 

The  usual  Howells,  but  Hawkinses  most- 
There  was  Hawkins  to  Huntington,  Hawkins  to  Quogue, 

One  to  Setauket  and  two  to  Patchogue, 


Home  Again.  295 

One  to  Cow  Harbour  and  one  to  Hauppogue, 
Hawkins  to  Sayville,  and  Smith  Hawkins'  dog. 
That's  most  of  the  people  we  shipped  along  with, 
Being  all  of  the  portion  that  wasn't  named  Smith. 


For  his  quarter-deck  Smith  was  allowed  two  young 
watch  officers  who  had  just  received  their  commissions, 
a  master's  mate,  a  surgeon's  mate  and  two  midship 
men — Teddy  and  another  of  more  mature  age  and 
longer  experience.  He  tried  to  get  little  Farragut,  but 
that  young  gentleman  was  already  placed  on  the  Spark 
one  of  the  vessels  of  the  same  squadron.  By  the  mid 
dle  of  February,  the  little  fleet  was  ready  for  sea,  and 
then,  on  February  i8th,  came  the  proclamation  of 
peace! 

As  the  young  commander  looked  over  the  trim  craft, 
and  the  splendid  crew  he  had  worked  so  hard  to  collect, 
he  felt  just  one  pang  of  disappointment.  At  the  next 
instant  he  remembered  that  only  thje  necessity  of  the 
Nation  could  justify  the  slaughter  of  these  men  whom 
he  had  drawn  from  their  homes,  and  that  to  wish  such 
necessity  to  continue  for  his  own  advancement  would 
be  wicked  sin.  Then,  too,  came  considerations  more 
private.  There  was  no  longer  any  chance  of  his  guns 
pouring  grape  shot  into  Tom  Wycherleigh's  merry 
heart,  and  the  ensuing  grief  to  Tom's  sister.  A  train 
of  recollections  came  to  him  of  all  the  fruits  of  war 
that  he  had  seen,  of  poor  little  Gray,  of  the  scene  in 
the  Hampshire  village,  of  Aunt  Hepsy,  of  the  young 
widow  of  James  Lawrence  being  told  that  her  baby 
was  born  fatherless  ;  and  Smith  bowed  his  head  and 
thanked  God  for  the  end  of  it  all,  and  prayed  to  be  for 
given  that  first  momentary  impulse  of  selfish  disap 
pointment. 


296  Smith   Brunt. 

His  next  thought  was  to  apply  for  leave  of  absence 
in  order  to  go  abroad  and  search  for  Carman  Hawkins. 
To  accomplish  this  purpose  he  had  long  ago  determined 
even  to  resign  if  necessary,  when  the  war  was  over. 
But  the  execution  of  this  project  was  delayed  in  an  un 
expected  manner,  and  the  services  of  Smith  and  his 
crew  were  still  required.  Within  five  days  after  pro 
claiming  peace  with  England,  the  President  asked 
Congress  to  declare  war  against  Algiers. 

The  news  ran  through  the  fleet  like  wildfire  and 
turned  the  chagrin  of  every  balked  viking  into  enthusi 
astic  delight.  The  memory  of  the  former  war  with  the 
Corsairs  was  still  green  with  the  old  hands  and  a  stir 
ring  tradition  to  the  young  ones.  Every  man  Jack 
wanted  to  get  underway  at  once,  but  they  were  held  in 
leash  until  the  cruisers  could  be  gathered  in,  and  the 
squadrons  reorganized. 

During  that  time  was  harvested  a  terrible  aftermath. 
We  may  appreciate  the  telegraph  when  we  consider 
that  thousands  of  men  in  the  war  of  1812  were  slain 
after  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  and  many  even 
after  it  was  proclaimed  in  both  countries.  That  is  a 
sad  reflection  at  this  distance  ;  but,  to  tell  truth,  it 
caused  eminent  satisfaction  to  our  men  who  were  still 
hot  from  the  struggle  and  had  not  the  same  feelings  as 
Smith  Brunt  ;  for  nearly  every  one  of  these  belated 
battles  was  a  victory  for  us.  First,  almost  coincident 
with  the  news  of  peace,  came  that  of  the  great  battle 
in  the  South  which  wiped  out  our  inglorious  record  on 
land  and  left  us  indisputably  ahead,  at  least  in  the 
score  of  mere  victories.  At  this  news  the  sailormen 
admitted  that  the  soldiers  had  been  good  for  some 
thing  at  last.  Jack  could  afford  this  meed  of  praise  to 
his  rival,  for  to  add  to  his  own  record  there  came  into 


Home  Again.  297 

port  the  little  Hornet,  Lawrence's  beloved  sloop,  with 
the  flag  of  the  Penguin  in  her  locker;  and  then  Decatur, 
though  captured  in  the  unlucky  President  by  a  squad 
ron,  before  being  taken,  handsomely  whipped  the 
Endymion  in  sight  of  his  other  pursuers.  To  crown  all, 
that  nigh  enchanted  ship  Old  Ironsides,  not  content  with 
her  former  achievements,  bagged  a  brace  of  corvettes 
both  at  once  by  maneuvering  that  could  have  been 
performed  only  by  a  prince  of  seamen  like  Stewart. 

No  wonder  the  sailormen  were  in  high  spirits.  The 
coast  had  been  blockaded  and  ravaged,  it  is  true  ; 
commerce  had  been  suspended  for  three  years,  and  so 
far  as  the  treaty  of  peace  showed,  the  country  had 
gained  nothing  ;  but  none  of  that  was  Jack's  fault. 
Though  the  diplomats  had  kept  silence  on  the  right  of 
search,  he  at  least  had  made  himself  heard  in  a  tone  not 
to  be  forgotten.  He  had  been  set  to  work  with  seventeen 
ships  to  fight  over  a  thousand,  and  with  five  hundred 
guns  against  twenty-eight  thousand  ;  and  well  had  he 
played  that  match.  He  had  taken  or  destroyed  on  the 
high  seas  fifteen  of  the  British  King's  ships  and  three 
hundred  and  seventy  of  his  guns,  besides  a  fourteen  gun 
brig  of  the  East  India  Company,  losing  in  return  but 
thirteen  vessels  and  three  hundred  and  seventeen  guns. 
Out  of  the  fourteen  duels  between  ships  of  nearly 
equal  force,  we  had  won  twelve,  counting  the  Constitu 
tions  double  fight  as  one.  To  make  a  perfectly  honest 
claim,  we  can  afford  to  admit  that  in  a  majority  of  our 
single  ship  victories  we  had  a  slight  superiority  of 
force,  but  in  every  case  except  one,  the  result  was  far 
out  of  proportion  to  the  advantage.  All  this  was  on  the 
ocean.  On  the  lakes,  the  start  had  been  fair  enough, 
the  enemy  having  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  vessels, 
and  we  none  at  all.  Both  sides  had  built  rapidly  ;  so 


298  Smith   Brunt. 

at  the  finish  we  had  taken  or  spoiled  over  twenty  ves 
sels  and  two  hundred  guns  at  a  cost  of  eight  small 
craft  and  thirty-seven  guns.  And  if  our  commerce  had 
been  run  to  cover,  that  of  Great  Britain  had  been  bled 
and  harried  from  St.  George's  channel  to  the  South 
Seas  and  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  With  this  sum  total  of 
his  share  in  the  war,  Jack  had  fair  reason  for  asking, 
"  Hasn't  Johnny  Bull  licked  every  darn  navy  in  Europe, 
and  haven't  we  hammered  the  duff  out  o'  Cousin  John  ? 
You  bet  !  And  now  for  them  heathen  pirates.  They've 
been  gettin'  sassy  durin'  our  business  with  John,  but 
now  I  guess  we'll  learn  'em." 

Such  were  the  sentiments  joyfully  uttered  throughout 
the  fleet  in  New  York  harbour.  The  enthusiasm  rose 
still  higher  at  the  news  that  the  darling  Decatur  was 
to  have  the  command.  It  was  certainly  very  fitting 
for  that  officer  to  lead  the  squadron  to  the  scenes  of 
his  early  exploits.  He  put  his  flag  on  the  new  Guer- 
riere,  and  on  the  2oth  of  May,  1815,  hoisted  Blue  Peter. 
Merrily  the  fiddlers  played  and  the  capstans  flew 
round,  merrily  did  they  "  stamp  and  go,"  and  though 
chanties  are  not  allowed  in  the  Navy,  this  occasion 
was  made  an  exception.  The  old  song  was  too  appro 
priate  to  be  suppressed.  It  started  on  the  flag  ship, 
and  next  moment  throughout  the  fleet  every  rope 
went  to  the  tune  of  "  The  High  Barbaree."  The 
Flame's  poet  used  to  lead  the  choir  at  Setauket,  and 
was  an  exceptionally  gifted  chanty  man.  He"  im 
provised  words  to  fit  the  occasion  and  produced  the 
following  :  . 

While  we've  been  at  war,  sir,  the  Dey  of  Algeree, 
Blow  high,  blow  low,  and  so  sailed  we, 
Has  tried  his  Pirate  tricks  again  with  traders  on  the  sea, 
Cruising  down  along  the  Coast  of  the  High  Barbaree. 


Home  Again.  299 

He  sends  for  his  Admiral,  a  Turk  of  high  degree, 

Blow  high,  etc. 

"  Get  aloft  you  lazy  lubber  there,  and  see  what  you  can  see," 

Cruising  down,  etc. 

"  Look  No'th'ard,  look  East'ard,  look  West'ard  out  to  sea." 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  Look  a-la'board,  look  a-sta'board,  look  a-weather,  look  a-lee," 
Look  down  along,  etc. 

"  There's  nothin'  to  No'th'ard,  there's  nothin'  a-lee," 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  But  there's  a  fleet  to  wind'ard  all  a-sailin'  bold  and  free," 
Running  down,  etc. 

«  Aloft  there  !     Aloft  there  !     What  colours  do  you  see  ?  " 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  Tis  a  striped  flag  they're  wearin'  all,  and  ten  o'  them  there  be," 
Cruising  down,  etc. 

"  Mahomet,  presarve  us,"  the  dirty  Dey,  says  he, 

Blow  high,  etc. 

"  'Tis  the  Yankees  sure  as  shootin'  and  I  think  they're  after  me," 

Cruisin'  down,  etc. 

"  Oh  hail  'em,  oh  hail  'em,  oh  hail  'em  hastily," 

Blow  high,  etc. 

"  Oh  who  be  you  a-sailing  bold  ?     What  may  your  business  be  ?  " 

Cruising  down,  etc. 

"  No  merchantmen  are  we,"  says  our  gallant  Commodore, 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  My  name  it  is  Decatur,  and  you've  heard  of  me  before," 
Cruising  down,  etc. 

"  I  know  him,"  the  Dey  cries,  "I  know  him  very  well," 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  For  he  took  the  Philadelphy  and  he  blew  her  all  \.o>—bits? 
Cruising  down,  etc. 

"  Lay  down  now,  alive  there,  you  son  of  a  Turk,"  says  he, 
Blow  high,  etc. 

"  Slip  every  cable  quick,  or  you'll  be  no  more  use  to  me," 
Cruising  down,  etc. 


300  Smith  Brunt. 

In  vain  oh,  in  vain  oh,  the  heathen  pirates  flee, 

Blow  high,  blow  low  and  so  sailed  we, 

For  we'll  board  'em,  and  we'll  burn  'em,  and  we'll  sink  'em  in  the  sea, 

Cruising  down  along  the  Coast  of  the  High  Barbaree. 

The  forts  boomed,  the  flags  dipped  and  the  squadron 
of  ten  sail,  led  by  the  tall  GuerHere  and  Macedonian, 
slipped  through  the  Narrows  and  was  soon  bowling 
away  from  Sandy  Hook  before  a  Northwester,  straight 
for  the  Mediterranean.  In  the  whole  fleet  there  was 
but  one  gloomy  man,  and  his  name  was  Brunt. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

SIR    THOMAS. 

[  TNDER  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar  nestle  the  quarters  of 
^  the  officers  of  the  garrison.  On  the  veranda  of 
one  of  the  houses  a  group  of  men  were  smoking  after 
breakfast,  one  summer  morning,  and  watching  a  fleet 
that  was  just  entering  the  harbour  in  single  line. 

"  There  go  the  colors  on  the  big  fellow,"  said  one  of 
the  observers  who  had  a  spy-glass.  "  Hullo,  by  Jove  ! 
it's  the  Yankee  stripes." 

"Now  what  the  deuce  are  they  after?"  queried  an 
other.  "  Have  they  declared  war  again  and  come  over 
to  capture  the  place,  or  are  they  just  dropping  in  to 
lunch  ?" 

"  Only  swagger,  probably,"  suggested  a  third. 
"  They've  sent  their  whole  navy  over  to  show  us  how 
many  they  have  left.  Sort  of  a  Fingal's  baby.  Now 
you'll  hear  blowing." 

"  Oh,  Lord  !  it'll  be  intolerable.  I  don't  think  much 
of  our  navy.  Why  didn't  it  wipe  out  all  their  ships 
when  it  had  a  chance,  so  they'd  have  to  stay  home  in 
future  ? " 

"  Possibly  for  the  same  reason  that  you  fellows 
didn't  walk  very  far  when  the  navy  put  you  ashore  at 
New  Orleans,"  suggested  a  young  man  in  civilian's 
dress,  but  whose  jacket  and  loose  white  trousers  be 
tokened  a  nautical  vocation  in  that  age  when  the 
landsman's  nether  garments  still  remained  skin  tight. 

"  Well  returned,"  laughed  the  army  officer.  "  But 

301 


302  Smith  Brunt. 

you  see,  Wycherleigh,  they  don't  have  mud  works  and 
nasty  long  rifles  aboard  ship." 

"They  have  lots  of  confoundedly  good  shots, 
though,"  answered  Tom  Wycherleigh,  for  the  civilian 
was  none  other  than  he. 

"  By  the  way,  talking  about  Yankees,  Wycherleigh, 
do  you  remember  that  fellow  de  Voe,  with  the  hand 
some  wife,  who  cut  such  a  dash  last  season  in  London  ?  " 
"  Yes,  he  was  quite  a  friend  of  Hugh's.     What  about 
him?" 

"  He's  here  now.  He  came  in  with  a  schooner  last 
night.  There  she  lies." 

"  I  never  met  him  except  once  when  he  stopped  at 
our  place,  and  I  didn't  like  the  cut  of  his  jib  then. 
What  is  he  doing  here  ?  " 

"  On  his  way  back  to  England,  he  says,  after  some 
sort  of  a  cruise,  /believe  he's  a  genteel  pirate." 

"  You  can  see  the  first  frigate's  stern  now.  Can  you 
make  out  her  name  ? "  asked  Tom  of  the  man  with  the 
spy-glass. 

"  Queer  name.  Looks  like  Gurry — Guery — Gurry — 
Gerry—" 

"  Ah,  I  see  it  ver'  plainlee,"  spoke  up  a  small  man 
with  a  French  accent,  who  was  also  possessed  of  a 
glass.  "  It  ees  Guerriere — and  ze  next  ees  Mac-Ma-ce- 
don-yan.  Ze  smaller  one  close  near  to  us  ees  rEpervier. 
Ah-h,  have  you  not  made  a  meestake  in  ze  flag?"  he 
added  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes.  "  Surely  zose  are  all 
English  sheeps,  eh  ?" 

"  Look  you  here,  Mossoo  le  Compt,"  growled  a  griz 
zled  major,  "  some  of  those  names  weren't  made  in 
England,  anyhow.  Gurreer  and  Epervy  seem  to  roll  off 
your  tongue  easier  than  off  mine." 

There  was  a  laugh  at  this  retort,  which  the  French 


Sir  Thomas.  303 

man-of-the-world  took  good-naturedly,  only  replying, 
"Ah,  yase,  you  probably  took  zem  from  ze  canaille  who 
now  call  zemselves  ze  French.  When  we  come  to  our 
places  again  we  will  go  and  take  zem  all  back  from  ze 
Yankees,  and  we  weel  give  you  some  for  your  kind  as- 
seestance  in  our  troubel." 

"  What  pretty  little  fore-and-afters  those  chaps  do 
build,"  remarked  Tom  Wycherleigh,  as  he  gazed  ad 
miringly  at  a  schooner  that  was  slipping  along  close  to 
the  rocks,  leaving  hardly  a  ripple  in  her  wake.  "  I  say, 
d'Orton,  may  I  have  the  glass  a  moment  ?  " 

"Sairtainly,  Sir  Thomas,"  replied  the  polite  French 
man.  "  You  can  use  eet  better  zan  I,  I  am  sure." 

Tom  aimed  the  glass  at  the  schooner  and  swept  it 
slowly  down  her  sails  and  along  her  deck,  then  sud 
denly  bent  forward  with  an  exclamation,  and  looked 
more  intently. 

"  By  Jove,  there  is  a  man  I  know  !  "  he  cried. 
"  Here,  d'Orton,  here's  your  glass,  much  obliged  for  it. 
I  am  going  down  aboard  of  that  chap.  Au  revoir,  you 
fellows,  as  le  Comte  says.  Many  thanks  for  your  de 
lightful  breakfast  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  you  know," 
and  Tom  strode  from  the  veranda  and  hurried  towards 
the  little  town. 

Scarcely  had  the  American  anchors  touched  the  bot 
tom  when  a  boat  left  the  side  of  the  schooner  Flame 
and  pulled  toward  the  flagship.  The  Commodore's 
barge  was  also  in  the  water,  and  Decatur  was  descend 
ing  the  side  ladder,  when  Mr.  Brunt  (now  Captain  by 
courtesy)  came  alongside.  Smith  rose  in  the  stern  of 
his  gig  and  saluting  his  commander,  asked  permission 
to  go  ashore.  In  a  few  words  he  explained  that  he 
had  recognized  Herbert  de  Voe's  Dart,  and  in  passing 
her  had  hailed  and  learned  that  the  master  was  ashore  ; 


304  Smith  Brunt. 

that  he  was  very  anxious  to  make  inquiries  of  de  Voe, 
or  one  of  his  crew,  about  a  lost  seaman  in  whom  he  was 
interested. 

Decatur  looked  narrowly  at  the  young  officer  a  mo 
ment  and  pursed  his  lips  slightly  ;  he  knew  the  story  of 
de  Voe  and  Grace,  or  at  least  as  much  of  it  as  did  the 
rest  of  New  York  in  general,  and  had  heard  the  rumor 
of  Smith's  connection  with  the  affair. 

"Very  well,  Captain  Brunt,"  he  replied  after  a  pause. 
"  But  I  may  get  news  ashore  of  the  Algerines  that  will 
make  it  necessary  to  sail  at  once.  You  must  remain 
near  the  landing  and  be  ready  to  return  aboard  your 
vessel  at  a  moment's  notice.  Keep  your  eye  on  the 
flagship." 

Smith  thanked  him,  and  followed  the  barge  ashore. 
As  they  walked  up  the  landing  stage  together,  Decatur 
said  in  a  low  tone. 

"  Remember,  lad,  that  your  duty  is  of  more  import 
ance  than  a  missing  seaman — or  anything  else." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  forget  that,  sir,"  replied  Smith, 
with  truth.  "I  would  not  go  near  the  fellow,  if  it  were 
not  really  for  what  I  have  told  you." 

When  he  had  ascended  to  the  edge  of  the  quay, 
Smith  looked  back  at  his  schooner  a  moment  to  see 
that  everything  was  taut  and  ship-shape.  Having 
satisfied  himself  on  that  point,  he  glanced  admiringly 
at  a  little  brigantine  close  to  the  landing. 

"  What  is  that  craft  ?"  he  asked  a  seaman  lounging 
near.  "  She  is  not  a  trader  surely,  and  but  lightly 
armed  for  a  letter-of-marque.  Is  she  a  yacht  ?  " 

"  That  she  is,  sir.     Sir  Thomas  Wycherleigh's." 

"Whose  ?     Sir  what?  "  exclaimed  Smith. 

"Mine,"  said  a  voice  behind  him,  and  Tom  Wycher- 
leigh  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder. 


Sir  Thomas.  305 

The  first  greeting  over,  the  two  walked  arm  in  arm 
toward  the  principal  cafe  near  the  wharf,  where  Smith 
thought  he  might  find  de  Voe.  After  a  polite  inquiry 
anent  Miss  Wycherleigh's  health,  Smith  next  asked 
whether  Tom  had  heard  anything  of  Carman  Hawkins. 
Tom  shook  his  head  sadly  and  said,  "  No,  and  hanged 
if  I  can  get  a  trace  of  him  ;  but  I'll  tell  you  some 
thing  I've  just  learned.  Your  friend  de  Voe  is  here 
and  may  be  able  to  give  me  a  clue.  You  remember 
when  Hawkins  was  last  seen  he  was  in  chase  of  one  of 
de  Voe's  men." 

tl  That  is  exactly  why  I  came  ashore,"  replied  Smith. 
"I  have  good  reasons  for  not  wanting  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  de  Voe,  but  can't  let  my  personal  feelings 
stand  in  the  way  of  any  possibility  of  finding  Carm.  I 
don't  know  whether  I  shall  be  able  to  manage  the  in 
quiry  without  a  row." 

Tom  glanced  at  his  friend  with  a  rather  puzzled  ex 
pression  and  then  suggested. 

"  Why,  /'//  ask  him.  I'll  try  and  do  better  with  him 
than  I  did  with  poor  Hugh." 

"  That's  a  good  idea,  Tom.  It  will  relieve  me  very 
much.  I  may  be  called  off  at  any  minute,  too.  We  are 
after  the  Moors,  you  know." 

"  So  I  supposed.  Where  is  Teddy  ?  I  have  some 
thing  for  him,  and  oh,  by  Jove  !  wait  till  you  hear  what 
I  have  to  tell  !  How  is  the  stalwart  American  ?  " 

"  Fine  as  a  fiddle.  He  is  with  me  now,  aboard  the 
schooner,  I'm  a  Captain  now,  I'd  have  you  know — to 
the  extent  of  ten  guns.  By-the-way,  that  sailorman 
called  you  Sir  Thomas.  What  does  that  mean  and  how 
did  you  get  that  beautiful  yacht?  Tell  me  all  about 
yourself.  Are  you  really  Sir  Thomas  Wycherleigh, 
now  ? " 


3o6  Smith  Brunt. 

"  By  Jove,  you  know,  I  don't  know  whether  I  am  or 
not,"  replied  Tom,  and  as  they  came  to  the  cafe  he  con 
tinued,  "let's  sit  down  in  here,  and  I'll  give  you  my 
yarn.  It's  a  most  uncommon  rum  go,  and  the  rummesl 
part  of  it  is  that  you  can  probably  tell  me  more  about 
it  than  I  know  myself." 

The  two  sat  down  at  a  table  from  which  they  could 
watch  the  door  and  the  fleet,  and  Tom  began  his  tale. 
"  Not  long  after  you  left,  my  dear  old  governor  died. 
His  death  ought  not  to  be  a  sorrow  to  me,  you  know, 
for  it  was  really  a  relief  to  him  ;  but  it  made  things 
pretty  hard  for  Edith  and  me.  Soon  after  the  funeral, 
we  were  practically  turned  out  of  the  old  house.  We'd 
had  a  jolly  row  with  Hugh  shortly  after  you  left— and 
by  the  way,  you  know,  it  was  about  you." 

"In    Heaven's   name,    what  do   you   mean?"  cried 

Smith. 

"  Well,  please  excuse  me  for  talking  about  what 
none  of  my  business,  but  I  think  perhaps  you  ought  to 
know  about  it.     You  see,  Hugh  announced  one  night 
that— er— that   you  had  run  away  with  Mrs.  de  Voe, 
you  know.     He  said  it  right  before  Edith,  too." 
"  Wha-a-at  ?"  exclaimed  Smith. 

"  Beastly  mean,  wasn't  it  ?  Of  course  I  said  it  was  a 
lie,  and  we  nearly  fought  ;  but  I  say,  you  ought  to  have 
seen  Edith.  She  was  in  a  good  deal  worse  taking  than 
1  was.  Oh,  by  Jove,  it  was  a  mill." 

"  Did  she— did  she  believe  him  ?  "  gasped  Smith. 
••  Well,  I'm  afraid   I'm  not  quite  sure,"  replied  Tom, 
hesitatingly,     "1   did  the  best    I   coukl,  you  know. 
told  how  f  h;ul  seen  you  off  on  the  cartel  and  swore^I 
had  seen  Mrs.  o!e  \oe  in  Southampton  next  morning." 
-The     devil     you    did,"    murmured    Smith,    faintly. 

"Thank  you." 


Sir  Thomas.  307 

"Yes,"  continued  Tom,  "and  I  thought  I  had  made 
it  all  right,  you  know  ;  but  what  does  Edith  do  but  go 
over  to  Southampton  next  day  on  some  excuse  or  other, 
and  hunt  up  an  old  tabby  who  had  lodged  Mrs.  de  V. 
and  whom  Hugh  had  quoted  as  his  authority.  When 
she  came  back,  she," — Tom  paused  and  looked  embar 
rassed. 

"  Go  on,  go  on,"  commanded  Smith,  drumming  on 
the  table  with  his  fingers. 

"  Well,  she  asked  me  why  I  thought  it  necessary  to 
tell  fibs  about  you  ;  but  then,"  he  added  more  cheer 
fully,  "  she  told  Hugh  not  to  judge  others  by  himself, 
and  that  there  were  some  men  in  the  world  with  ideas 
of  honour  that  he  and  his  kind  knew  nothing  about. 
Gad,  I  expected  Hugh's  whole  broadside,  and  I  did 
think  Edith  was  laying  it  on  rather  hard.  All  good 
women  do,  you  know  ;  one  must  expect  that.  But  he 
only  laughed  in  a  way  that  I  believe  I'd  have  killed 
him  for,  if  he  hadn't  been  my  brother.  I  suppose  I 
ought  not  to  tell  about  such  a  precious  family  row,  but 
I  think  you  have  a  right  to  know  of  it.  So  to  tell  you 
the  truth  I  don't  know  whether  or  not  Edith  or  any 
one  else  knows — I  mean  thinks — that  you — er — I  don't 
know  what  she  thinks,  Smith." 

"  Tom,  it  is  a  lie,"  declared  Smith  fiercely,  leaning 
over  the  table,  "  or  else  some  horrible  mistake.     I  told 
you  the  truth  on  the    ship  that  night,  and  I  wish  to 
Heaven  that  you  had  repeated   it.     Upon  my  word  of  ' 
honour  as  a  gentleman,  that  was  the  whole  truth." 

"  Of  course,  of  course,  old  man,"  assented  Tom, 
gravely.  "I  stuck  to  that  afterwards  too." 

"  Confound  you,"  groaned  Smith,  nearly  crying  with 
vexation  and  perplexity.  "  You  think  I'm  lying  now. 
The  possibility  of  this  cursed  slander  never  came  into  my 


308  Smith   Brunt. 

head.  I  wish  it  had,  and  I  would  have  known  enough  to 
prevent  it.  I  can  see  now  that  I  have  been  a  primitive 
fool.  But,  by  the  Lord,  I  am  no  wife-stealer.  I  am 
no  such  animal  as  that,  Tom,  and  you  ought  not  to 
think  it  of  me.  Hang  it,  man,  can't  I  say  anything  to 
make  you  believe  me  ? " 

Smith's  agony  was  so  evidently  genuine,  that  Tom 
began  laughing  and  held  out  his  hand. 

"  I  do  believe  you,  you  innocent  old  Yankee,"  he 
cried,  "  and  I'll  shoot  any  man  who  doesn't.  Now  I 
think  of  it,  you  were  going  to  speak  to  de  Voe  himself 
when  I  met  you.  To  tell  the  truth  I  was  taken  aback 
at  what  Hugh  said,  and  I  believe  I  was  just  a  bit  dis 
appointed  too.  I  am  no  prude,  you  know,  but  some 
how  I  did  think  you  were  different  from  me  and  from 
most  men,  and  by  Jove,  I  rather  fancied  you  for  it,  you 
know.  And  then  taking  another  fellow's  wife  is  com 
ing  it  rather  strong.  I  know  those  Corinthian  bloods 
don't  mind  that  sort  of  game,  but  it  always  seems  to  me 
rather  a  dirty  mean  trick,  especially  when  the  husband 
is  off  at  sea.  But  I  knew,  of  course,  that  it  was  none 
of  my  business,  and  I  spoke  of  it  only  to  warn  you  that 
it  was  leaking  out.  I  am  jolly  glad  I  did.  Now  let 
me  get  on  with  my  yarn." 

"  One  moment,"  interrupted  Smith.  "  I  don't  know 
where  this  horrible  thing  may  end,  but  you  heard  me 
say  just  now  that  I  did  not  care  to  speak  to  de  Voe  if 
I  could  help  it.  That  is  because  he  is  almost,  if  not 
quite,  a  thief  and  a  traitor  too,  and  (this  in  confidence) 
I  have  reason  to  think  that  he  is  as  false  to  his  wife  as 
he  was  to  his  shipowner  and  his  country.  If  ever  I  get 
at  loggerheads  with  him,  you  will  know  that  it  is  for 
those  reasons  and  no  others." 

"All  right,"  said  Tom.     "Now  let   me  see.     I  told 


Sir  Thomas.  309 

you  that  father  had  died,  didn't  I,  and  Edith  and  I  got 
out  of  the  house.  The  old  gentleman  had  saved  up 
some  of  his  income  and  left  that  to  us,  so  that  we  had 
something  more  than  my  pay  to  live  on.  Edith  went 
to  live  with  the  Grays,  and  I  went  to  sea  again  as  soon 
as  I  could.  Luckily  I  got  appointed  to  the  Channel 
fleet,  and  about  two  months  ago  was  at  Portsmouth 
when  I  received  the  news  that  Hugh  had  been  killed 
in  the  hunting  field.  That  made  me  Sir  Thomas  ap 
parently,  so  I  got  leave  and  hurried  home  to  Tormouth, 
and  first  of  all  asked  Mary  Gray  to  marry  me.  She 
said  yes — so  you  can  congratulate  me  on  that  anyway," 
which  Smith  did  warmly. 

"  But  we're  not  married  yet,"  continued  Tom  rue 
fully,  "  and  it  may  be  love  in  a  cottage,  with  me  at  sea 
most  of  the  time,  after  all.  Still  Mrs.  Wycherleigh 
or  Lady  Wycherleigh  will  be  the  same  person,  and  we 
shall  have  enough  to  get  married  on  anyway.  That  is 
because  Hugh  forgot  to  make  a  will,  and  Edith  and  I 
came  in  for  all  his  personal  property.  He  had  a  good 
deal  of  money  from  his  wife,  a  rich  old  party,  old  enough 
to  be  his  mother,  who  did  not  last  long  after  he  married 
her  years  ago.  On  the  strength  of  all  this  I  resigned 
from  the  service,  expecting  to  spend  the  rest  of  my 
days  on  the  place  as  a  good  old  landlord,  you  know, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  But — and  here  comes  the 
rub — while  we  were  searching  for  a  will,  we  found  in 
Hugh's  strong  box,  what  do  you  think  ?  Nothing  less, 
by  Jove,  than  Teddy's  locket  !  And,  Smith,  do  you 
know,  I  am  afraid  it  was  Hugh  who  st — took  it  ;  for  I 
believe  he  had  a  strong  motive  for  doing  so.  Please 
don't  think  me  a  blackguard  for  saying  such  things 
about  a  dead  man  and  my 'own  brother  at  that.  No 
one  else  but  Mary  and  the  family  lawyer  knows  it,  and 


3io  Smith  Brunt. 

I  tell  you  only  for  the  purpose  of  getting  help  in  the 
matter  as  you  will  see  shortly. 

"  To  explain,  I  shall  have  to  give  you  a  sad  chapter 
of  family  history.  I  told  you,  you  may  remember,  that 
my  oldest  brother  Arthur  married  the  daughter  of  old 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gray  before  they  came  to  Tormouth. 
Now,  my  poor  dear  old  father  was  one  of  the  best  gov 
ernors  that  ever  lived,  and  they  say  he  used  to  love 
Arthur  even  more  than  he  did  me  ;  but  he  always  had 
a  quick  temper,  never  liked  to  be  crossed,  and  for  some 
reason  was  dead  set  against  this  match.  I  suppose  he 
wanted  his  oldest  son  to  rrmrry  some  one  who  could 
help  him  keep  up  the  old  place  better  than  could  the 
daughter  of  a  country  parson.  At  any  rate  he  stopped 
my  brother's  allowance  arid  refused  to  see  his  wife. 
When  Mr.  Gray,  after  the  engagement,  learned  how 
my  father  felt,  he  naturally  got  on  his  pride  and  he 
also  forbade  the  match  and  was  as  angry  at  the  mar 
riage  as  the  old  gentleman.  Arthur  could  find  nothing 
to  do  for  a  living  in  England,  so  he  went  with  his  wife 
to  India  and  got  a  troop  in  a  black  cavalry  regiment. 

"  After  a  year  or  two  the  old  gentleman  couldn't  stand 
it  any  longer,  so  he  hunted  up  Arthur's  address  and 
sent  for  him  and  his  wife  to  come  home  and  make  it 
all  up.  They  sailed  for  home  in  an  American  ship,  and 
on  the  way  put  in  at  Mogador  on  the  Morocco  coast. 
The  governor  of  Mogador  seized  the  ship  and  clapped 
all  hands  in  prison,  passengers  and  all.  Somehow  or 
other  Arthur  got  word  to  our  consul  at  Tangiers,  who 
sent  across  to  Gibraltar.  Hugh  was  in  the  army  then, 
and  happened  to  be  with  his  regiment  in  garrison  here 
at  the  time.  They  sent  a  corvette  at  once  to  Mogador, 
and  Hugh  went  on  it.  But  he  was  too  late.  He  came 
back  and  reported  that  Arthur  and  his  wife  had  both 


Sir  Thomas.  311 

died  of  fever  in  prison.  No  wonder  the  news  affected 
my  poor  old  governor's  mind.  Just  as  they  were  com 
ing  home,  too,  and  everything  seemed  to  be  all  right 
again.  The  whole  regiment  wanted  to  go  down  and 
burn  the  place  but  couldn't  get  permission,  and  I  have 
always  liked  you  Yankees,  you  know,  for  drubbing 
those  cursed  Moorish  pirates.  Hope  you  will  do  it 
again. 

"  Now  comes  the  queer  part  of  the  story.  When  I 
found  this  locket  I  was  of  course  taken  flat  aback,  and 
knew  there  must  be  something  rum  about  it.  So  I 
showed  it  to  Mary  confidentially  in  order  to  ask  her 
advice.  She  was  even  more  staggered  than  I,  and  no 
wonder.  Smith,  that  miniature  of  Teddy's  is  the  por 
trait  of  my  dead  brother  Arthur's  wife  !  That's  not 
all  either  ;  for  then  Mary  told  me  a  yarn  about  Ted 
that  she'd  heard  from  Mrs.  de  Voe  on  that  night  when 
we  first  came  home.  You  will  know  whether  or  not  it 
is  true.  She  said  that  Teddy  was  not  really  the  son  of 
your  friend,  Lawrence,  but  had  been  picked  up  some 
where  by  a  man-o'-war  along  with  his  old  guardian 
seaman  and  had  been  wrecked  Dn  your  Long  Island 
coast.  I  don't  know  what  concern  it  was  of  Mrs.  de 
Voe's,  but  women  can't  help  talking,  you  know.  I 
told  all  this  to  our  lawyer,  and  he  went  to  work  quietly 
and  found  a  man  who  had  served  with  Arthur  in  India. 
That  man  remembered  that  Arthur  and  his  wife  had 
had  a  son  born  to  them  there,  long  before  they  started, 
for  home.  Here  is  another  point, — don't  you  remem 
ber  how  my  poor  old  father  kept  thinking  that  Ted 
was  Arthur  home  from  school  ?  And  then  don't  you 
know  how  much  Teddy  looks  like  poor  little  Dick 
Gray  ?  It  is  my  belief,  Smith,  that  Teddy  and  Dick 
were  first  cousins.  De  mortuis  what-you-call-em,  you 


312  Smith   Brunt. 

know,  but  now  you  see  why  I  suspect  Hugh  of  taking 
the  locket.  I  would  like  to  think  that  he  found  it 
somewhere,  shortly  before  he  died,  and  put  it  away  for 
safe-keeping  ;  but  he  used  to  know  Arthur's  wife  and 
must  have  recognized  the  portrait  that  evening  at  din 
ner  when  he  stepped  on  it.  Now  I  want  you  to  tell  me 
all  you  know  about  Ted — that  is,  if  you  don't  mind,  you 
know," 

Smith  smiled,  but  looked  rather  grave.  "  The  story 
of  Teddy's  shipwreck  and  adoption  by  Mr.  Lawrence 
is  all  true  enough,"  said  he.  "  He  and  Ben  Orrin  were 
picked  up  by  the  Iroquois  from  an  island  on  the  West 
coast  of  Africa,  somewhere  North  of  the  Line.  But  I 
think  you're  overstanding  on  that  tack.  The  locket 
was  old  Ben's,  or  in  his  possession,  and  might  have 
come  to  him  in  any  one  of  fifty  ways.  From  Mogador 
to  the  Equator  is  a  long  run.  No  other  connection 
whatever  between  Teddy  and  your  older  brother  has 
been  established  except  that  he  was  called  Artie  by 
your  father  and  looks  somewhat  like  little  Gray.  Now 
it  was  perfectly  natural  for  your  father,  like  other  very 
old  people,  to  have  such  an  illusion,  and  you  thought  so 
yourself  at  the  time  ;  as  for  the  other  circumstance,  any 
two  little  boys  of  the  same  age  and  size,  both  with 
curly  yellow  hair  would,  of  course,  look  somewhat 
alike." 

"  Of  course,  I  admit  it's  only  guessing,"  replied  Tom, 
"  and  for  that  reason  I  have  begun  investigation  on 
this  side  instead  of  going  over  to  America  to  hunt  up 
you  and  this  Mr.  Lawrence.  This  meeting  has  saved 
me  that  voyage.  I  am  here  now  on  my  way  to  Moga 
dor.  You  see,  after  I  made  this  jolly  discovery,  I  post 
poned  my  marriage,  chartered  that  little  brigantine 
and  started  off  with  the  family  lawyer  to  investigate. 


Sir  Thomas.  313 

We  arrived  here  yesterday,  and  are  going  down  the 
coast  to-morrow,  or  as  soon  as  we  can  get  a  passport 
from  Tangiers.  Now  what  do  you  think  of  that  for  a 
kettle  of  fish  ?" 

"  So  now  you're  chasing  all  over  the  world  to  find 
some  one  to  take  your  baronetcy  off  your  hands  ? " 

"That's  about  it,"  replied  Tom,  with  a  mournful 
grin,  "but  I  couldn't  very  well  sit  down  and  enjoy  what 
belonged  to  another  man,  could  I  ?  I'm  no  saint,  but, 
by  Jove,  I  couldn't  quite  go  that,  you  know."  Then  he 
added,  "  You  may  say  what  you  please,  but  I  believe  it 
is  Teddy." 

"I  hope  the  heir  will  prove  to  be  Teddy,  if  anybody," 
answered  Smith,  reflectively. 

"  I  always  told  him  we'd  make  him  an  Englishman," 
laughed  Tom.  "  There'll  be  some  fun  in  that  anyway. 
What  a  joke  it  would  be  !  " 

"You  can't  do  it,"  replied  Smith.  "That's  why  I 
hope  it  will  prove  to  be  Teddy  if  anybody."  Then  he 
tipped  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed  as  a  vision  of  a 
possible  scene  came  in  his  mind.  "  When  you  lay  Boss 
Hen  aboard,"  he  exclaimed,  "  may  I  be  there  to  see  ! 
He-  would  never  let  Ted  go  in  the  wide  world.  And 
really  Tom  it  would  be  cruelty  to  urge  it,"  he  added 
more  seriously,  as  the  reverse  of  that  picture  presented 
itself  to  his  mind.  "  However  there  is  no  use  in  discus 
sing  that  further.  It  is  only  a  wild  conjecture.  I 
know  nothing  more  of  Ted  than  what  I  have  told  you, 
but  I  happen  to  know  something  about  some  one  else 
that  may  possibly  fit  into  the  story  when  you  have 
learned  more.  I  shan't  tell  it  to  you  unless  it  does  fit 
and  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  I  certainly  can't  tell  it 
now.  Go  ahead  with  your  research  among  the  Moors, 


314  Smith   Brunt. 

and  then  hunt  me  up  and  tell  me  what  you  find.    I  hope 
it'll  be  nothing,  or  else  proof  that  it  is  all  a  chimera." 

"  Hadn't  we  better  go  aboard  your  craft  and  see 
Teddy?" 

"  No,  no,"  exclaimed  Smith.  "  Don't  bother  the  boy 
yet.  You  can  see  him,  if  necessary,  when  you  get  back 
from  Africa.  We  shall  probably  be  around  here  all 
summer  chasing  Turks.  Hullo,  there's  the  Com 
modore.  Excuse  me  a  moment,  and  I'll  find  out  how 
soon  we  have  to  sail.  If  we  have  to  go  at  once  you'll 
make  a  point  of  seeing  de  Voe,  won't  you  ? " 

"Yes,  I'll  see  him  to-day,  surely,"  answered  Tom. 
"  Which  is  your  Flag  ?  That  man  with  the  two  epau 
lettes  ?  Who  is  he  ?  " 

"  Decatur,"  answered  Smith.  "  Yes,  that  is  he  walk 
ing  towards  the  door." 

"By  Jove,  is  that  Decatur?  You  don't  say  so!" 
exclaimed  Tom,  rising  to  get  a  better  look  at  the  of 
ficer  whose  exploits  had  been  told  on  every  quarter 
deck  and  forecastle  where  English  was  spoken.  There 
was  a  picturesqueness  about  Decatur's  achievements, 
added  to  their  daring,  that  fascinated  the  young  men 
of  both  navies,  and  this  admiration  was  not  unaided  by 
his  personal  appearance  and  manner.  Although  these 
latter  points  had  not  impressed  Smith  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  they  were  striking  enough  to  older  eyes  and 
now  prompted  Tom  to  add,  "  By  Jove,  isn't  he  a  thor 
oughbred  ?  I  say,  you  know,  that's  just  the  way  he 
ought  to  look.  Hullo,  there  is  your  friend  de  Voe  now." 

As  Tom  spoke,  Herbert  de  Voe  entered  the  cafe  and 
came  face  to  face  with  Decatur.  Herbert  had  often 
met  the  Commodore  in  New  York,  and,  not  averse  to 
showing  his  intimacy  with  the  distinguished  man,  held 
out  his  hand  with  an  easy,  "  Hullo,  Decatur,  how  are 


Sir  Thomas.  315 

you  ? "  Decatur  put  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and 
slightly  arching  his  eyebrows  stared  the  young  man 
straight  in  the  face  a  moment,  then  turned  away.  It 
was  as  unmistakeable  a  cut  as  ever  was  given,  and 
Herbert  de  Voe  turned  crimson.  Stepping  again  in 
front  of  the  officer,  he  demanded  fiercely,  "  What  do 
you  mean  by  this  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  have  the  privilege  of  choosing  my  own 
acquaintances,"  remarked  Decatur,  to  a  picture  on  the 
wall. 

"  You  shall  explain  your  reason  for  dropping  me  from 
the  list,"  said  de  Voe.  "  I  can  not  pass  over  such  a 
proceeding  on  the  part  of  anybody." 

"  If  I  should  happen  to  tell  any  one  that  he  was  a 
renegade,"  continued  Decatur  in  an  even  tone,  and 
still  addressing  the  picture,  "  I  should  feel  obliged  to 
accept  the  responsibility  entailed  by  such  a  remark. 
Therefore,  as  it  is  not  always  convenient  to  undertake 
such  responsibility,  I  can  not  always  be  perfectly  frank 
with  every  one." 

Herbert  had  recovered  his  self-possession  now,  and 
displayed  the  old  sneer  in  his  face.  Indeed  to  a  man 
of  his  sort  a  quarrel  with  a  great  man  has  as  much 
charm  as  his  friendship,  perhaps  more,  since  it  puts 
one  even  more  in  the  public  view.  He  was  plucky 
enough,  and  rather  pleased  at  an  opportunity  to  beard 
the  renowned  warrior  before  a  crowd  of  military  and 
naval  men  who  would  tell  the  tale  in  London.  He 
would  do  this  thing  in  the  most  approved  fashion,  just 
as  it  was  done  in  books. 

"  Captain  Decatur,"  he  sneered,  "  has  a  reputation 
for  courage  and  good  breeding  and  of  knowing  thor 
oughly  what  is  due  from  a  gentleman  who  insults  an 
other.  Indeed,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  he  has  had  some 


316  Smith  Brunt. 

practice  in  such  matters  in  this  very  region,  and  also  at 
Malta  not  far  from  here.  Surely  he  has  not  one  rule 
for  others,  and  another  for  himself." 

This  remark  was  an  allusion  to  a  fatal  duel  managed 
in  his  youth  by  Decatur  as  second  for  young  Joseph 
Bainbridge,  an  affair  which  must  have  remained  a  sad 
memory  to  the  participants.  Whether  it  was  this,  or 
the  irritating  tone  and  swagger  of  the  speaker,  that 
struck  home,  at  any  rate  the  Commodore  turned  his 
gaze  suddenly  and  fiercely  from  the  picture  to  Herbert. 
The  handsome  forehead  grew  darker  than  ever,  and 
for  a  moment  those  eyes  flashed  like  lightning  beneath 
a  thunder  cloud.  Then  the  shadow  passed  as  sud 
denly  as  it  had  come,  and  gave  place  to  a  look  of  re 
gret,  almost  of  melancholy.  Perhaps  he  was  thinking 
of  the  life  cut  off  on  the  beach  at  Malta  ;  perhaps  in  a 
prophetic  vision,  he  saw  the  dark  spotted  grass  of 
Bladensburg.  Moral  courage  would  have  been  an  easy 
virtue  to  one  whose  physical  bravery  had  been  so  es 
tablished  as  was  Decatur's,  but,  as  his  end  proved,  he 
never  allowed  that  modern  idea  to  stand  in  the  path  of 
what  he  considered  the  duty  of  a  gentleman,  unpleas 
ant  though  that  duty  might  be.  All  the  officers  in  the 
cafe  knew  well  his  reputation  and  maintained  absolute 
silence  while  they  listened  for  his  reply.  Clear  and 
calm  it  came  at  last  from  between  smiling  lips. 

"  Among  the  merits  so  kindly  ascribed  to  Captain 
Decatur,  there  has  been  omitted  one  to  which  he  can 
truly  lay  claim.  When  he  is  in  charge  of  his  country's 
fleet  on  his  country's  errand,  he  does  not  turn  aside  to 
punish  every  young  gentleman  who  may  try  to  pick  a 
quarrel  with  him." 

A  titter  went  round  the  room,  and  at  that  sound 
Herbert  de  Voe  lost  his  usual  self-control. 


Sir  Thomas.  317 

"  By  G ,  you  shall  !  "  he  cried,  and  springing  for 
ward,  struck  savagely  with  his  open  palm  at  Decatur's 
face.  But  the  blow  never  reached  its  object  ;  for  it 
was  parried  by  Smith  Brunt,  who  at  that  moment 
stepped  in  front  of  his  Commodore. 

"  Oh,  you  too,  Master  Blifil  ? "  snarled  de  Voe. 
"  Must  I  fight  the  man  as  well  as  the  master  ?'' 

"  No,  nor  you  either,  Captain  Brunt,"  cried  Decatur 
sternly.  "  Go  to  your  ship,  sir.  We  sail  at  once. 
Come,  no  more  of  this  nonsense.  Mr.  de  Voe,  if  you 
feel  yourself  injured,  and  as  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
grant  you  redress  at  this  time,  you  may  tell  every  one 
that  you  have  the  apologies  of  Stephen  Decatur."  The 
flag  officer  bowed  low  as  he  spoke  and  left  the  cafe, 
followed  by  Smith. 

Before  reaching  his  gig,  Smith  found  time  to  speak 
a  word  to  Tom  Wycherleigh,  who  had  hurried  after 
him.  "  See  here,  Tom,"  he  said,  "  with  your  permis 
sion  I  intend  to  write  to  Miss  Wycherleigh,  I  have  no 
time  to  do  so  now,  and  if  anything  happens  to  me  be 
fore  I  can  send  the  letter,  you'll  straighten  me  out  with 
her,  won't  you  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  will,"  assented  Tom,  "  but  write  to  her 
yourself,  by  all  means.  I  say,  what  a  raking  that  was 
for  your  friend  de  Voe  !  Rather  fancy  I'd  better  not 
tackle  him  until  after  he  refits  a  bit.  Love  to  Ted. 
Next  time  I  see  him,  I'll  give  him  his  locket  and  per 
haps  five  thousand  acres  along  with  it.  Good-bye." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  whole  American  squadron 
was  standing  for  Cape  Gata,  hot  foot  after  the  Alger- 
ines  ;  and  one  of  the  commanders  was  hoping  for  at 
least  a  dozen  pirates  to  his  personal  share. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

WHAT  THEY  LEARNED  AT  MOGADOR. 

IN  his  interview  with  de  Voe  that  day  Tom  learned 
nothing  of  Carman  Hawkins.  Herbert's  first  reply 
was  that  if  Smith  Brunt  wanted  any  information  from 
him,  the  little  prig  had  better  ask  for  it  himself  instead 
of  putting  on  airs. 

"  Oh,  I  say  now,  look  here,"  answered  Tom,  deter 
mined  to  be  tactful  this  time.  "  I  am  asking  this  for 
my  own  information.  Of  course  you  may  be  at  logger 
heads  with  your  own  countrymen,  but  you've  no  reason 
for  quarrelling  with  me,  you  know,  and  you  don't  want 
to  take  me  on  just  for  nothing  and  make  three  in  one 
day,  now  do  you  ?  If  you  do,  a  good  way  is  to  black 
guard  Brunt  ;  because  he's  a  friend  of  mine,  you  know. 
But  I  suppose  you  forgot  that,  so  I  won't  be  stuffy 
about  it.  You  see  it  is  this  way,"  he  continued  cheer 
fully  :  "  The  night  you  sailed  from  Southampton, 
Hawkins  ran  foul  of  one  of  your  men,  one  with  red 
hair,  at  the  Nelson's  Head,  and  followed  him  out  of 
the  inn.  He's  not  been  seen  since.  There's  a  sus 
picion  that  the  red-headed  pirate  may  have  knocked 
him  on  the  head,  you  know,  or  something  of  that  sort. 
I  wish  you'd  inquire  about  it." 

Just  what  reply  Herbert,  who  was  not  in  the  best  of 
humours,  might  have  made  to  this  speech  can  not  be 
known,  for  before  he  could  make  any,  he  was  accosted 


At  Mogador.  319 

by  another  interrogator.  A  thin,  middle-aged,  very 
neatly  and  plainly  dressed  man,  with  a  keen  face,  had 
been  standing  beside  Tom,  and  now  interrupted  the 
conversation. 

"  Is  this  Mr.  Herbert  de  Voe  ? "  he  inquired,  and  be 
fore  receiving  an  answer  followed  up  his  question  with 
the  remark,  "  I  think  I  have  your  note  of  hand  among 
the  late  Sir  Hugh  Wycherleigh's  property." 

"  The  late  Sir  Hugh  Wycherleigh  ? "  repeated  de  Voe. 
"  Is  your  brother  dead  and  your  father  also  ?"  he  asked, 
addressing  Tom. 

"Yes,"  said  Tom,  "both  of  them." 

"  Oh,  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  that.  Still,  the  situa 
tion  is  not  wholly  devoid  of  consolation,  for  I  presume 
then  that  I  am  addressing  Sir  Thomas.  This  er — 
gentleman  is  quite  right  about  the  note.  I  owed  your 
brother  two  thousand  pounds,  which  I  will  repay  to 
the  proper  party  on  my  return  to  England.  I  am  on 
my  way  there  now,  after  nearly  a  year's  absence.  I 
shall  have  some  other  affairs  also  to  arrange  with  your 
brother's  estate." 

"All  right,"  answered  Tom.  "I  don't  know  much 
about  all  that.  Mr.  Waxham  here  knows  it  all.  But 
now  about  this  poor  devil,  Hawkins — " 

"  I  will  make  inquiries  on  my  schooner,"  replied 
Herbert.  "  I  sent  that  red-headed  man  of  whom  you 
speak  on  an  errand  before  sailing,  and  he  got  back  just 
in  time,  after  a  narrow  escape  from  a  press  gang.  I 
will  ask  him  whether  he  saw  anything  more  of  your 
friend,  and  let  you  know  what  he  says." 

But  that  night  the  Dart  disappeared  from  the  har 
bour  of  Gibraltar. 

The  next  day  Tom  got  his  yacht,  the  Spray,  under 
way  and  stood  across  to  Tangiers.  There  he  applied 


320  Smith  Brunt. 

through  the  British  consul  to  the  Sultan  of  Morocco 
for  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Mogador.  Mr.  Waxham 
insisted  on  this,  in  spite  of  a  delay  of  two  weeks. 
During  that  time  rumours  came  that  the  Americans 
had  scattered  the  Algerine  Navy,  taking  two  ships  and 
killing  the  Admiral  Hammida,  the  scourge  of  the 
Mediterranean  ;  that  the  impetuous  Decatur  had  dic 
tated  a  treaty  to  the  Dey  and  had  it  signed  aboard  of  his 
flagship  ;  and  that,  having  settled  with  Algiers  in  this 
summary  fashion,  "  the  wild  young  man  "  had  filled 
away  to  the  Eastward,  probably  bound  for  Tripoli  or 
Tunis.  Tom  would  have  liked  to  have  gone  East  and 
seen  the  fun,  but  was  anxious  to  finish  what  he  had  in 
hand  and  so  remained  sailing  about  idly  in  the  Straits  for 
amusement,  rambling  in  the  Moorish  towns  and  on  the 
Spanish  coast  and  otherwise  killing  time  while  await 
ing  the  pleasure  of,  and  making  remarks  about,  his 
Majesty  the  Sultan  of  Morocco. 

At  last  the  desired  document  came,  and  Sir  Thomas 
sailed  away  to  the  southwest  on  his  cruise,  to  find  out 
whether  or  not  he  was  Sir  Thomas.  In  due  time  he 
arrived  at  the  ancient  slave-market,  the  port  of  Moga 
dor.  As  soon  as  everything  was  made  snug  on  the 
Spray,  Tom  and  the  attorney  went  ashore  and  sought 
the  Gubernatorial  dwelling.  With  the  aid  of  an  inter 
preter  whom  they  had  brought  with  them,  and  armed 
with  the  imperial  letter,  they  achieved  the  august 
presence  of  the  Governor. 

That  worthy  received  them  graciously,  seated  upon 
a  divan,  surrounded  by  fans,  slaves,  and  all  the  appurte 
nances  of  Oriental  dignity;  so  that  the  Englishmen  felt 
quite  as  though  they  had  dropped  into  a  chapter  of  the 
Arabian  Nights.  The  Governor  was  a  comparatively 
young  man  who  had  been  in  office  but  a  year  or  two, 


At  Mogador.  321 

filling  a  vacancy  made  for  him  by  the  simple  means  of 
a  bowstring,  which  was  another  appurtenance  of 
Oriental  dignity  in  those  picturesque  days.  He  was 
therefore  grieved  to  say  that  he  knew  nothing  of  what 
the  Englishmen  wished  to  learn,  but  he  would  summon 
his  Vizier  who  had  held  office  for  very  many  seasons. 
This  valuable  assistant  occupied  much  the  same  posi 
tion  as  the  similar  functionaries  of  our  own  enlightened 
government,  who  on  account  of  their  knowledge  of  the 
duties  of  their  departments  and  consequent  necessity 
to  the  heads  thereof,  are  not  bowstringed  every  four 
years  like  the  rest. 

The  Vizier  answered  the  summons  promptly,  and  as 
he  entered  bowed  until  his  long  white  beard  touched 
the  ground.  Beneath  his  turban  peered  out  a  pair  of 
bright  black  beads  that  seemed  capable  of  perceiving 
bowstrings  or  other  complications  at  a  great  distance, 
and  no  doubt  made  excellent  sentinels  to  their 
possessor.  The  first  question  put  to  the  venerable 
minister  was  whether  he  had  any  recollection  of  an 
American  vessel,  named  the  Polly,  that  had  been 
seized  eleven  years  before.  To  this  he  replied  in  a 
speech  of  considerable  length. 

"What  does  he  say  ?  "  asked  Tom  of  the  interpreter 
when  the  speech  was  finished. 

"  He  says  he  has  done  no  harm  to  the  Americans," 
replied  the  interpreter.  "  He  says  they  are  a  fierce 
race  from  over  a  far  sea,  and  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the 
Faithful.  They  have  fallen  upon  our  brethren  of 
Algiers,  and  taken  the  great  Mashouda,  and  slain  the 
Rais  Hammida,  Allah  preserve  his  soul." 

"  And  a  jolly  good  job,  too,"  observed  Sir  Thomas. 
"  But  what  has  that  to  do  with  my  question  ?  Tell 
him  we  are  not  Americans,  we  are  Englishmen." 


322  Smith   Brunt. 

Another  oration  from  the  graybeard. 

"  He  says  the  English  are  bad,"  explained  the  inter 
preter.  "  Pardon  me,  milord,  that  is  what  the  old  man 
says.  He  says  the  English  and  Americans  look  alike 
and  speak  alike,  and  are  both  infidels,  and  are  leagued 
together  against  the  Faithful.  The  English  consul 
said  that  his  people  would  wipe  these  western  dogs  off 
the  sea,  but  now  they  come  and  make  war  upon  the 
Faithful  with  ships  that  used  to  belong  to  the  English." 

"Yes,  I've  heard  that  joke  before.  It  is  not  an 
original  remark,"  growled  Tom.  "  We  may  be  reim 
bursing  ourselves  from  some  of  these  corsairs  if  they 
say  much.  Tell  him  to  stop  yawing  about  so  and 
answer  my  question." 

"Wait  a  moment,"  put  in  Mr.  Waxham.  "Tell  him 
that  the  American  ship  Polly,  was  seized  in  this  port 
eleven  years  ago,  that  we  know  all  about  it  and  have 
come  here  with  the  Sultan's  firman  to  make  inquiries." 

Upon  the  translation  of  this  question,  there  ensued 
a  confabulation  between  the  Governor  and  his  minis 
ter,  during  which  the  former  pointed  once  or  twice  to 
the  imperial  letter,  and  in  which  the  visitors  caught 
"Americanos"  and  several  times  the  name  "  Rais  De- 
catur." 

"  He  says,"  explained  the  interpreter  in  response  to 
a  gesture  from  the  Governor,  "  that  the  Polly  was  re 
turned  long  ago  when  the  Americans  were  making  war 
on  Tripoli  in  the  reign  of  Sidi  Yusef,  and  many  pres 
ents  with  her,  and  all  her  people  were  set  free,  and 
the  Sultan  was  no  longer  angry." 

"  Oho,  then  the  old  chap  does  remember  the  Polly" 
exclaimed  Tom.  "  Now  ask  him  if  he  remembers  an 
English  officer  who  was  a  passenger  on  her,  and  his 
wife  and  child." 


At  Mogador.  323 

"  Gently,  gently,  Sir  Thomas,"  urged  the  lawyer. 
"  Let  us  put  one  question  at  a  time.  We  do  not  yet 
know,  remember,  whether  there  was  any  child.  Ask 
the  Pacha,"  he  continued  to  the  interpreter,  "whether 
he  speaks  of  this  from  his  own  knowledge  and  whether 
he  can  swear  to  the  facts." 

"  But  he  has  just  said  he  remembered  it,"  insisted 
Tom. 

"  Now,  Sir  Thomas,  I  pray  ypu  let  me  conduct  this 
examination,"  pleaded  the  older  man.  "  I  perceive 
that  this  witness  requires  somewhat  careful  handling." 

"All  right,  go  ahead,  you're  the  pilot." 

"He  says  it  is  all  true  by  the  beard  of  the  Prophet," 
said  the  interpreter  wheh  he  had  received  an  answer 
to  Waxham's  question.  "  He  did,  himself,  all  that  was 
done." 

"Very  well.  Now  ask  him,  if  you  please,  what  be 
came  of  two  passengers  who  were  on  that  ship,  an 
English  gentleman  and  his  wife.  Tell  him  that  we 
know  they  were  put  in  prison  with  the  others,  for  we 
had  it  from  the  consul  at  the  time,"  said  Waxham. 
"  You  see,"  he  added  to  Tom  "  we  now  have  him 
committed  to  some  responsibility." 

The  old  Moor  reflected  a  few  minutes  with  his  fore 
finger  on  his  forehead.  Then  he  spoke  at  some  length. 

"What  does  he  say  ?"  asked  Tom  eagerly. 

"  He  says,"  replied  the  interpreter,  "  that  he  re 
members  an  Englishman,  a  passenger,  who  sent  to  the 
consul  at  Tangiers  for  ransom  ;  that  the  Englishman 
was  very  sick  and  died  ;  that  all  the  crew  and  passen 
gers  were  turned  over  to  the  slave  master,  and  after 
wards  they  were  all  set  free  ;  none  were  sold.  That  is 
all  he  knows." 


324 


Smith   Brunt. 


"You  didn't  weather  on  the  old  cove  much  on  that 
tack,  Waxham,"  said  Tom.  "  Ask  him  about  Hugh." 

"  An  officer  came  here  soon  afterwards,"  said  Wax- 
ham,  "  and  made  inquiries  about  the  Englishman  and 
his  wife,  and  must  have  spoken  with  the  Vizier.  Does 
he  remember  him  ?  " 

"  He  says,"  replied  the  interpreter  after  conversa 
tion  with  the  Vizier,  "  that  he  remembers  an  officer 
who  came  here  in  an  English  warship.  He  took  this 
officer  to  the  slave  master,  and  the  officer  went  away 
satisfied  and  so  did  the  warship.  He  does  not  know 
what  the  slave  master  told  him." 

"Then  the  slave  master  is  the  fellow  we  want," 
said  Tom. 

"  Where  is  this  slave  master  now  ?  "  asked  Waxham. 

In  replying  to  this  question  the  Vizier  shrugged  his 
shoulders  and  spread  his  hands  apart,  palms  upper 
most. 

"  He  is  dead,"  said  the  interpreter. 

"  D "  observed  Sir  Thomas. 

A  number  of  other  questions  elicited  no  further  in 
formation,  and  the  Englishmen  finally  retired  in  dis 
appointment.  The  Vizier  promised  to  make  investi 
gations,  however,  and  report  anything  he  could  learn. 

"What's  to  be  done  now,  Waxham  ?"  queried  Tom, 
as  they  took  their  way  to  the  wharf.  "  This  mystery 
is  still  more  than  hull  down.  I  don't  see  that  we've 
raised  it  a  bit." 

"  There  is  nothing  more  that  we  can  do  here,"  re 
plied  Waxham,  "  except  to  wait  awhile  and  see  what 
this  old  fellow  may  turn  up  for  us.  If  he  finds  us  no 
clue,  then  of  course  the  next  witnesses  will  be  the 
officers  and  crew  of  this  ship  Polly.  Perhaps  your 
American  friend  can  help  us  about  that.  In  my  opin- 


At  Mogador.  325 

ion  we  should  have  seen  them  in  the  first  place,  even 
though  we  lost  a  little  time.  I  hardly  like  the  look  of 
this  old  Moorish  rascal.  I  wish  we  had  been  better 
informed  before  approaching  him.  However,  let  us 
wait.  It  seems  impossible  that  a  woman,  particularly 
one  of  rank  and  beauty,  could  disappear  without  any 
trace,  even  in  this  barbarous  land.  We  shall  probably 
find  that  she  died  here  as  your  brother  was  told,  and 
that  the  child,  if  there  was  one,  also  died." 

That  evening  while  Tom  and  Waxham  were  sitting  on 
deck  after  dinner,  they  heard  the  quartermaster  hail  a 
boat. 

"  I  would  speak  words  with  the  young  Milord," 
came  the  unnautical  response,  with  a  peculiar  accent. 

"  Hullo,"  remarked  Tom,  getting  up.  "  I  suppose 
that's  meant  for  your  obedient  servant,  by  way  of  pro 
motion.  Perhaps  that's  news,  Waxham.  Tell  'em  to 
come  aboard,"  he  called,  going  himself  to  the  side. 

The  boat  came  alongside,  with  a  curious,  large  bun 
dle  in  its  bow.  When  it  reached  the  side  ladder,  the 
bundle  rose  and  ascended  to  the  deck. 

"  Why  !  "  exclaimed  Tom,  as  the  light  from  the  cabin 
skylight  fell  on  a  long,  white  beard.  "  It's  the  blessed 
old  Vizier  himself.  Get  the  interpreter,  Waxham." 

"  Allah  be  with  you.  It  is  even  I,  Abdul  Musta- 
pha  El  Hamid,  Vizier,"  announced  the  old  man  in 
English.  "But  do  not  send  for  the  interpreter,  my 
son.  We  do  not  need  him.  When  I  was  young  I  stay 
long  time  at  Malta  where  the  English  are,  and  I  have 
their  tongue  very  good.  We  can  speak  between  us 
more  better  alone." 

"  By  Jove  !  "  cried  Tom.  "  I  say  now,  why  didn't 
you  let  us  know  that  to-day,  eh  ?  " 

"  Knowledge  is  good,  young  man,"  replied  the  vener. 


326  Smith   Brunt. 

able  Moor  gravely,  "  but  knowledge  is  not  always  wise, 
and  wisdom  is  more  better.  Let  us  go  on  one  side  and 
talk." 

"  We  had  better  go  down  stairs  in  the  cabin,"  sug 
gested  the  lawyer.  So  "  down  stairs"  they  went. 

"  Well,  your  Excellency  Mr.  Vizier,  what  have  you 
sighted  ? "  asked  Tom,  when  the  three  were  seated 
round  the  table. 

"  Why  you  come  so  far,  Englishmen,  to  ask  about 
this  little  thing  ?  How  much  it  worth,  eh  ?  How 
much  you  give  for  the  knowledge  of  me,  Abdul  Musta- 
pha  El  Hamid  ?" 

"  Oh,  that's  why  you've  been  hanging  in  the  wind," 
said  Tom,  grinning.  "  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth, 
Mustapha,  it  may  be  worth  a  good  bit  less  than  nothing 
to  me  ;  but  to  find  out,  I'll  give  you  what  you  want." 

Here  Waxham  trod  on  Tom's  foot  under  the  table, 
and  replied  himself. 

"  Nothing  is  of  any  value  to  us,  good  sir,  but  the 
whole,  exact  truth.  If  you  can  assist  us  to  reach  that, 
we  shall  recompense  you  properly  for  your  trouble." 

"  The  old  speak  more  wiser  words  than  the  young," 
quoth  the  graybeard.  "  But  you  have  not  yet  told 
what  I  ask.  Why  you  want  to  know  about  the  English 
woman  ?  " 

"  I  say,  look  here  now,  Mr.  Hamid,"  broke  in  Tom, 
"  that's  our  affair,  you  know." 

"  You  said  you  knew  the  English  officer,  he  who 
came  for  ask  questions  long  time  ago.  Why  you  not 
ask  him  what  he  know  ?  " 

"  He  is  dead,"  replied  Waxham.  "  He  was  the 
brother  of  this  gentleman." 

"  Ah,  he  is  dead.  And  this  Milord  is  his  brother  ?  " 
repeated  the  old  man.  "The  other  Englishman  who 


At  Mogador.  327 

died,  he  also  was  brother.  That  is  why  you  come  here 
for  ask  questions  ?  " 

"  Exactly,"  replied  Waxham. 

"  The  officer  who  came  before,  who  was  brother  of 
this  young  man,  was  he  ever  trouble?  Did  he  ever 
curse  Abdul  Mustapha  El  Hamid  ?" 

"Why,  no,"  replied  Waxham,  in  a  tone  of  perplexity. 
"  I  cannot  say  that  I  ever  heard  of  his  doing  so." 

"  No,  surely,  he  never  did  !  "  replied  the  old  Moor, 
triumphantly.  "That  is  because  he  pay  two  thousand 
ducats,  and  the  word  of  Abdul  Mustapha  El  Hamid  is 
good.  But  the  captives  are  not  dead,  oh,  no.  Yet  pay 
me  two  thousand  ducats  more,  as  the  other  Giaur  did, 
and  so  you  never  be  trouble  either.  My  word  is  good." 

Tom,  who  up  to  this  point  had  been  too  puzzled  by 
the  conversation  to  interrupt,  now  leaned  forward  and 
brought  his  fist  down  on  the  table  with  an  oath,  but 
got  no  further  than  "  Infernal,  cold  blooded," — when 
Waxham  held  up  both  hands  with  such  an  imploring 
"  Hush,  hush,  for  Heaven's  sake,"  that  Tom  hauled  out 
of  action  and  lay  to  in  silence,  but  in  a  boiling  con 
dition. 

"  From  what  you  say,  my  good  sir,"  said  the  attorney, 
when  he  had  quieted  his  salt  water  client,  "  I  infer  that 
the  persons  whom  we  seek  are  still  prisoners.  A  lady 
and  her  child,  arn  I  right?  " 

The  Moor  nodded,  and  Tom  fumed. 

"  But  you  have  mistaken,  I  fear,"  continued  Waxham, 
in  a  perfectly  mild  tone,  "  the  object  with  which  we 
seek  them.  We  wish  neither  to  harm  them  nor  to  have 
them  remain  longer  in  captivity  ;  on  the  contrary,  we 
have  come  to  liberate  them.  If  you  will  deliver  them 
alive  and  well,  we  will  pay  you  a  thousand  ducats." 

"A  thousand  grape  shot! "roared  Tom,  no    longer 


328  Smith  Brunt. 

able  to  restrain  himself.  "  Waxham,  do  you  suppose 
he  has  told  the  truth  about  Hugh  ?  By  the  Lord,  I've 
a  good  mind  to  fire  the  old  scoundrel's  beard,  and 
make  a  torch  of  him  to  burn  the  town." 

This  threat  was  spoken  so  rapidly  as  to  be  unintelli 
gible  to  the  Moor  ;  but  Tom's  manner  was  easily  under 
stood,  and  the  old  man  began  to  look  alarmed.  The 
cautious  Waxham  saw  that  he  would  now  have  to 
combine  the  sword  with  the  purse,  and  thought  that 
perhaps  the  combination  would  do  no  harm. 

"You  see,  sir,"  he  explained  to  the  Vizier,  "Sir 
Thomas  is  very  angry,  and  justly  so.  You  are  of  course 
completely  in  our  power  now,  and  must  stay  here  as 
a  hostage  until  we  receive  these  captives.  Your  offence 
has  been  a  very  grave  one,  and  the  Sultan  will  not  like 
to  hear  it.  Send  a  message  ashore  by  your  boatman, 
and  have  the  prisoners  sent  on  board.  Then  we  will  re 
lease  you  with  a  present  of  a  thousand  ducats." 

The  old  rascal  followed  this  speech  closely  enough  ; 
but  at  its  end,  he  folded  his  arms  and  with  a  look  of 
offended  dignity  replied, 

"  Is  this  the  way  of  the  Giaur?  Why  is  it  you  talk 
so  to  Abdul  Mustapha  Ed  Hamid,  who  sits  here  a  guest 
in  your  tent  ?  Did  I  say,  oh  Giaur,  that  I  have  any 
prisoners  ?  (On  reflection  Waxham  remembered  that 
he  had  not.)  I  have  none.  I  will  go,  since  you  tell 
me  I  do  such  things." 

"  By  Heaven,  he  has  murdered  them  !  "  cried  Tom. 
"  Look  here,  you  heathen  brute  ;  out  of  this  cabin  you 
don't  go  until  you  tell  the  truth  about  this  thing.  Do 
you  understand  ?"  and  Tom  pointed  through  the  sky 
light  towards  the  fore  yard,  fitting  his  other  hand  about 
his  throat  suggestively.  The  various  uses  of  a  yard 
arm  on  a  Christian  ship  may  not  have  been  known  to 


At  Mogador.  329 

the  Vizier  ;  but  Tom's  gesture  was  a  close  enough 
imitation  of  the  bowstring  custom  to  affect  the  old 
gentleman  visibly. 

"  This  is  a  very  grave  matter,"  added  Waxham. 
"  You  will  have  to  account  to  the  Sultan  for  these  pris 
oners.  If  you  do  not  tell  us  the  truth  about  them  then 
we  know  it  is  because  you  fear  to." 

The  old  man  sank  back  in  a  chair  again. 

"  El  Hamid  not  fear  nothing,"  said  he,  "  the  bad 
words  of  Christian  dogs  is  like  the  wind  to  him.  Poof  ! 
Is  it  thought  well  among  your  people  that  the  young 
talk  to  the  old  the  words  this  young  man  talks  now  ? 
I  will  tell  you  all  I  know,  but  not  for  fear,  oh  no  ;  and 
what  I  tell  you  will  be  true  like  the  Koran.  I  swear 
by  the  beard  of  the  Prophet.  Listen,  oh  Giaurs." 

The  following  tale  is  here  given  in  substance  the 
same  but,  for  the  sake  of  continuity,  in  language  more 
fluent  than  the  old  man  spoke. 

"  The  Englishman  who  was  on  the  Polly,  and  his  two 
women — " 

"What  ?"  broke  in  both  at  once. 

"  Why  do  you  interrupt  me  ?  If  you  are  to  hear,  it 
is  I  who  must  speak.  The  Englishman  was  brought 
ashore  sick,  close  to  death,  and  his  two  women  were 
with  him,  and  the  child.  He  said,  and  all  the  Ameri 
canos  said,  that  he  was  a  pacha  in  his  own  country,  and 
that  if  the  English  consul  at  Tangiers  was  told  of  him, 
we  would  get  a  large  ransom.  So  we  kept  him  care 
fully  and  the  women.  Only  one  was  his  wife,  for  the 
English  have  but  one  ;  I  have  lived  among  your  people 
and  I  know.  But  he  died,  and  the  governor  would 
have  taken  the  women,  but  the  Americano  captain  said 
that  the  English  would  pay  for  even  the  women,  if  they 
were  well  treated,  but  would  make  war  upon  us  if  they 


330  Smith   Brunt. 

came  to  harm.  It  seemed  a  strange  thing  to  make  war 
for  women,  but  the  English  Giaurs  do  strange  things, 
as  I  know,  who  have  lived  among  them.  So  we  put  the 
women  and  child  apart  from  the  others  and  guarded 
them  carefully. 

"By  and  by  the  English  warship  came,  and  the  officer 
who  said  he  was  a  brother  of  him  that  had  died.  He 
talked  with  the  governor,  and  learned  that  his  brother 
was  dead.  Then  he  agreed  to  pay  a  thousand  ducats 
for  the  two  women  and  the  man  child,  but  he  said  that 
he  must  see  them  first.  So  I  took  him  to  the  house  of 
the  slave  master  where  the  women  were.  On  the  way 
we  talked  together,  and  he  made  sorrow  of  his  bargain  ; 
for  he  said  that  he  was  doing  great  harm  to  himself, 
and  that  if  he  brought  them  away  he  might  lose  very 
much  more  than  the  ransom.  I  asked  him  who  would 
be  the  pacha  now  that  his  brother  was  dead;  would  it 
be  himself,  or  would  it  not  rather  be  the  man  child  ? 
He  said  I  was  right  ;  it  would  be  the  man  child,  if  it 
was  the  child  of  his  brother.  So  I  saw  that  the  cus 
toms  of  his  country  were  the  same  as  the  customs  of 
mine.  I  was  sorry  for  him,  and  I  told  him  how  Yusef 
All  was  Caliph  because  his  brother's  son,  Musjid,  had 
died,  no  one  knew  why,  Allah  rest  his  soul.  The 
Giaur  went  into  the  house  of  the  slave-master  and  saw 
the  women  and  talked  with  them,  and  saw  the  child, 
and  learned  that  it  was  the  child  of  the  fair  one.  For 
one  woman  was  fair,  and  one  was  dark.  Then  he  took 
me  apart  into  the  next  room,  and  he  gave  me  three 
thousand  ducats.  One  thousand  he  told  me  to  give  to 
the  Governor,  and  to  keep  two  thousand  myself. 
Then  he  said  that  the  women  and  the  child  were  ran 
somed,  and  the  Governor  and  the  Americano  captives 
must  know  that  they  were  ransomed  and  had  gone 


At  Mogador.  331 

back  with  him,  and  that  the  slave  master  must  never 
tell  anything  else.  He  asked  me  if  that  could  be  so, 
and  I  swore  to  him  that  it  would  be  so.  Then  he  said 
that  he  would  give  the  captives  to  me,  but  I  must  never 
let  them  go  ;  and  I  was  content,  since  the  Englishman 
himself  wished  it.  Then  he  went  back  to  his  ship  and 
sailed  away. 

"  The  slave  master  was  young,  and  wished  that  we 
should  each  take  a  woman  to  our  harem,  and  he  would 
take  the  beautiful  white  one  to  keep  himself  silent  ; 
but  I  being  old  and  wise  feared  to  do  that,  since  walls 
have  ears,  even  the  walls  of  the  harem.  Yet  I  did  not 
have  them  put  to  death — oh,  no,  Milord — I  did  not  do 
that.  If  you  do  not  believe  me,  judge  for  yourself 
whether  a  poor  man  like  Mustapha  El  Hamid  could 
spare  the  worth  of  two  women,  one  very  fair  and  one 
very  large  and  straight,  and  a  man  child.  We  knew 
well  that  their  worth  was  many  hundred  ducats. 

"  So  when  it  fell  dark,  the  slave  master  and  I  took 
the  captives  outside  the  town  to  the  market  near  the 
bay.  The  yearly  buying  and  selling  of  slaves  had  be 
gun,  and  many  caravans  had  already  come  over  the 
desert  and  ships  over  the  sea.  We  went  to  a  great 
tent  near  the  shore,  the  tent  of  a  merchant  whom  the 
slave  master  knew.  This  merchant  gave  us  a  good 
price  for  the  three  captives  ;  for  white  slaves  were 
scarce  since  the  Americanos  were  on  the  northern 
coast  in  their  warships,  and  we  feared  to  sell  the 
Christians  we  had  seized,  And  indeed  it  was  good  we 
did  not  ;  for  soon  after  the  Americano  Rais  came  to 
Tangiers,  and  the  Sultan  sent  for  the  Polly  and  all  the 
prisoners  we  had  taken  from  her.  The  slave  merchant 
promised  to  take  the  captives  far  away  and  to  make 
them  never  be  heard  of  again. 


332  Smith  Brunt. 

"  But  now  hear  what  headstrong  youth  and  a  bad  faith 
will  do,  and  how  Allah  punishes  deceit.  That  night, 
after  we  had  come  back  to  our  houses,  the  slave  mas 
ter  arose  and  went  back  to  the  merchant's  tent.  He 
roused  the  merchant  and  said  that  he  wished  to  buy 
back  one  of  the  women  for  himself.  He  paid  more 
than  he  had  got  for  her,  so  the  merchant  told  him  to 
go  into  the  tent  where  the  slaves  were  and  choose  the 
one  he  wished.  So  he  went  out  ;  but  in  the  morning, 
lo  !  that  whole  great  tent  where  the  slaves  had  been, 
was  down  flat  upon  the  ground,  though  there  had  been 
no  wind.  The  merchant  made  a  great  noisy  sorrow 
and  called  people  from  the  other  tents,  to  help  raise 
his  tent  again.  But  when  they  raised  it  so  that  a  man 
could  crawl  under,  they  found  the  judgment  of  Allah 
on  the  slave  master,  and  on  the  merchant  also,  because 
their  words  had  been  false  to  me.  For  there  lay  the 
slave  master,  very  dead,  with  his  neck  twisted  like  a 
fowl  and  his  scimitar  gone  from  the  scabbard.  Near 
him  the  guard  lay,  also  dead,  his  head  being  nearly 
apart  from  his  body.  But  the  two  women  and  the 
child  were  gone  ;  and  another  slave  was  gone  with 
them,  a  very  high  priced  one.  So  the  merchant  lost 
them  all,  because  he  did  not  keep  his  word  to  me. 

"  He  made  long  search,  but  never  found  the 
Christians.  He  found  a  fisherman  on  the  shore  near  by, 
bound,  and  with  his  sash  tied  about  his  mouth.  When 
they  set  this  man  free,  he  told  them  that  a  great  demon 
had  come  with  two  women, one  carrying  something,  and 
had  seized  him  and  asked  for  the  English  warship. 
And  he  being  afraid  for  his  life  had  pointed  to  another 
ship,  for  the  English  ship  had  gone.  Then  the  demon 
had  bound  him  and  put  the  sash  about  his  head  so  that 
he  could  make  no  sound  ;  and  laid  him  on  his  face, 


At  Mogador.  333 

and  took  his  boat,  and  went  away  over  the  water  ; 
he  could  hear  that.  The  captives  were  never  seen 
again. 

"  So  now  you  see,  Milord,  I  have  kept  my  word  to 
your  brother  the  officer,  so  far  as  I  could,  and  I  have 
done  no  wrong.  I  have  spoken." 

The  old  Moor  leaned  back  in  his  chair  with  the  air 
of  vindicated  innocence.  The  two  Englishmen  looked 
from  him  to  each  other  in  silence  for  a  moment,  Wax- 
ham  with  his  eyes  half  closed  in  a  musing  expression, 
Tom  with  his  mouth  half  open  in  an  expression  quite 
different.  The  sailor  spoke  first,  saying  only,  "  Up 
you  go." 

"  Wait  a  bit,"  answered  the  lawyer,  smiling  at  the 
simple  earnestness  of  the  youth.  "  Let  us  sift  this 
thing  out.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  a  child.  That 
has  been  corroborated  without  any  suggestion  from  us, 
and  may  therefore,  I  think,  be  considered  proven  ;  and 
that  is  the  first  step.  Now,  as  to  the  fate  of  the  cap 
tives,"  he  continued  deliberately,  putting  his  hands 
with  the  finger  tips  together,  "  he  either  lies,  or  he 
doesn't  lie.  First  let  us  suppose  that  he  lies.  In  that 
case  the  prisoners  are  either  murdered,  or  still  in  his 
power  ;  for  if  they  had  passed  out  of  his  keeping  alive, 
he  would  have  no  reason  for  making  up  a  story  about 
the  way  it  happened,  would  he  ?  No.  Now  I  feel  sure 
that  they  are  not  in  his  power,  for  in  that  case  such  a 
mercenary  creature  as  he  evidently  is,  would  have  ac 
cepted  my  offer  or  attempted  to  drive  a  bargain  even 
without  the  additional  incentive  of  fear.  Therefore  it 
comes  to  this  : — he  has  either  killed  them,  or  he  tells 
the  truth.  I  incline  to  believe  the  latter.  Had  he 
made  away  with  them,  he  would  hardly  have  come  to 
us,  for  he  did  not  know  what  our  interest  in  the  affair 


334  Smith   Brunt. 

might  be.  When  he  found  out  that  you  were  a  brother 
of  Sir  Hugh  and  in  the  same  position,  he  concluded 
you  were  of  the  same  turn  of  mind,  and  thought  that 
perhaps  he  could  make  something  out  of  you  also,  in 
the  same  way.  I  fear  his  statement  about  Sir  Hugh  is 
true,  for  you  remember  he  asked  us  first  whether  the 
captives  had  turned  up  to  trouble  him.  When  you 
frightened  him,  he  told  the  truth.  Of  course  he  may 
have  been  quick  enough  to  make  it  all  up  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  but  I  doubt  it  ;  or  he  may  have  come 
out  here  with  this  story  ready  concocted,  but  that 
would  have  been  risky  if  there  was  any  foul  play  to 
to  hide.  Don't  you  agree  with  me  ?  " 

"  Well,"  answered  Tom,  "  you  understand  this  sort 
of  navigation  better  than  I  ;  but  I  don't  see  how  all 
that  alters  the  fact  that  he  ought  to  go  aloft." 

"  Apart  from  the  irregularity  of  such  a  proceeding, 
Sir  Thomas,"  replied  the  man  of  law,  "  you  would  lose 
all  his  evidence  in  clearing  the  title.  We  should  cer 
tainly  hold  him  prisoner,  however,  until  we  can  satisfy 
ourselves  as  to  the  truth  of  his  story.  Let  us  see 
whether  we  can  not  get  some  corroborative  testimony." 

The  aged  Mahometan  had  been  fidgeting  about  in 
his  chair,  with  perspiration  dripping  from  his  turban, 
during  all  this  reasoning  which  had  been  carried  on 
quite  regardless  of  his  presence.  Waxham  now  turned 
to  him  and  asked  whether  any  one  else  knew  of  the 
affair. 

"  None  but  a  eunuch  of  the  slave  master,  who  now 
belongs  to  me,"  replied  the  old  man.  "  The  merchant 
is  away,  and  his  guard  is  dead,  as  is  the  slave  master." 

"  How  about  the  fisherman  ?  "  asked  the  lawyer. 

"  He  is  here." 

"  Send  for  him  and  the  eunuch,"  said  Waxham. 


At  Mogador.  335 

"  I  will  go  for  them  myself,"  said  the  Moor,  rising 
gladly. 

"  No,  you  don't,"  exclaimed  Tom,  "  you  stay  where 
you  are.  Sit  down,  and  send  the  boatman." 

"  Quite  right,"  said  the  attorney.  "  And  he  had 
better  send  the  order  to  the  boatman  by  our  inter 
preter." 

This  was  done,  and  while  waiting  for  the  return  of 
the  boatman,  Tom  and  Waxham  discussed  the  situation 
and  the  next  step  to  be  taken. 

"  If  this  yarn  of  his  is  true,"  said  Tom,  "  they  may 
have  got  aboard  some  ship,  or  else  the  poor  things 
may  have  got  to  sea  in  the  fisherman's  boat.  I  won 
der  how  the  wind  was.  What  sort  of  weather  did  you 
have  that  night,  you  old  scoundrel  ?  " 

The  Vizier  replied  that  he  recollected  very  well  a 
gale  from  the  North  on  the  next  day,  so  that  no  craft 
would  go  out  after  the  Christians  at  any  price.  The 
fugitives  must  surely  have  been  drowned,  if  they  went 
to  sea. 

"  I  say,  Waxham,"  cried  Tom  suddenly  warming  up, 
"  I  believe  the  old  codger  has  told  the  truth.  If  they 
were  carried  down  by  the  Norther,  that  would  bring 
them  to  some  point  or  island  on  the  coast  South  of 
here,  just  where  Brunt  said  they  were  picked  up.  Don't 
you  see  ?  " 

"  Not  so  fast,  not  so  fast.  Let  us  not  jump  at  any 
conclusions  yet,"  replied  the  attorney.  "  How  far  is  it 
from  here  to  the  Equator  ?  " 

"  Nearly  two  thousand  miles." 

"  Is  not  that  a  bit  far  for  an  open  boat  ?  " 

"Yes,  but  the  locket  ?" 

"  Young  Lawrence's  friend  may  have  got  that  from 
some  native  here,  or  in  India  for  that  matter.  This 


336  Smith  Brunt. 

worthy  himself  may,  and  probably  did  steal  it  and  sell 
it.  I  shall  try  to  find  that  out  presently." 

"  What  a  wet  blanket  you  are,  Waxham  !  But  I've 
made  up  my  mind  to  one  thing,"  answered  Tom;  "  I'm 
going  to  explore  every  island  from  here  to  the  Line. 
There  are  not  so  very  many." 

"  Let  us  see  first  what  the  rest  of  the  evidence  here 
may  be." 

By  the  end  of  an  hour  the  Vizier's  boat  returned 
with  a  frightened  Arab  fisherman,  and  a  large  negro. 
They  were  both  brought  to  the  cabin,  and  the  inter 
preter  also.  Mr.  Waxham  had  taken  from  a  locker 
the  important  trinket,  and  as  his  first  move,  suddenly 
showed  the  miniature  to  the  negro.  The  slave  looked 
at  the  portrait,  and  never  altered  his  expression.  The 
Vizier  said  something  in  his  native  tongue. 

"  What  did  you  say  then  !  "  demanded  Waxham 
quickly. 

"  I  told  him  to  tell  the  truth,"  replied  the  old  man. 

Waxham  looked  inquiringly  at  the  interpreter,  who 
nodded  assent.  Then  to  Waxham's  questions,  put 
through  the  interpreter,  the  slave  acknowledged  that 
he  recognized  the  picture  as  the  likeness  of  a  Christian 
woman  who  had  been  held  captive  in  the  house  of  his 
former  master  many  years  ago,  and  whom  he  himself 
had  helped  to  take  to  the  tent  of  a  slave  merchant, 
along  with  another  very  heavy  woman  and  a  child,  on 
the  night  when  his  master  was  killed.  He  had  never 
seen  any  of  them  again.  He  had  never  seen  the  locket 
before.  He  had  heard  no  more  and  knew  no  more. 
He  never  heard  anything,  and  never  knew  anything, 
except  what  he  saw,  and  that  only  when  he  was  told  to 
know  it. 


At  Mogador.  337 

"  A  most  excellent  witness,"  observed  the  attorney. 
"That  will  do.  Now  the  other." 

The  fisherman  similarly  told  all  he  knew  of  the 
escape  of  the  Christian  slaves.  The  episode,  notwith 
standing  its  antiquity,  was  fixed  in  his  mind  by  his 
encounter  with  the  devil  and  the  loss  of  his  boat  which 
he  had  never  seen  again.  His  story  was  substantially  as 
the  Vizier  had  reported  it.  Did  the  Giaurs  know  aught 
of  his  boat  ?  No  ?  Then  he  hoped  the  Giaur  pachas 
would  give  him  a  new  one. 

The  upshot  of  it  all  was  that  the  Vizier  and  his  fel 
low  countrymen  were  dismissed,  and  twenty  minutes 
later  the  Spray  had  weighed  and  slipped  out  past  the 
battery,  and  at  daylight  was  headed  down  the  African 
coast. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    REPUBLIC    OF    BIJUNGA. 

FOR  searching  a  title  the  Atlantic  Ocean  is  a  more 
agreeable  place,  though  perhaps  less  remunera 
tive,  than  a  register's  office.  The  cruise  after  the 
Wycherleigh  heir  passed  pleasantly  enough  for  Tom  and 
at  first  for  Waxham.  The  attorney  grew  weary  after  the 
first  few  weeks,  however,  and  shook  his  head  frequently 
over  the  seaman's  method  of  procedure,  which  he 
was  pleased  to  term  a  wild  goose  chase.  He  was  for 
consulting  Mr.  Lawrence  and  hunting  up  more  evidence 
in  America,  before  exploring  the  coast  of  Africa  any 
further.  The  first  bad  storm  confirmed  his  opinion, 
but  with  the  material  alteration  of  writing  to  America 
instead  of  going  there. 

"  I  have  seen  many  a  young  man  get  rid  of  a 
fortune,"  he  would  remark  occasionally,  "  but  have 
never  before  known  one  to  take  so  much  trouble 
about  it,  and  in  such  an  original  manner." 

But  Tom,  happy  in  the  command  of  his  own  little 
vessel  and  the  glorious  freedom  of  being  his  own  Ad 
miralty,  was  minded  to  make  the  most  of  that  state  of 
affairs  while  it  lasted,  although  directing  it,  perhaps, 
toward  its  own  termination.  To  his  honest  mind,  how 
ever,  such  an  end  was  preferable  to  an  uncertainty,  and 
the  only  serious  flaw  iif  his  content  was  the  separation 
from  his  betrothed.  Even  that  pain  was  somewhat 
assuaged  by  the  sea  air  (which  must  have  a  soothing 
effect  provided  by  Nature  for  such  ailments,  else  how 
333 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  339 

could  sailors  ever  marry  ?),  and  he  sent  long  letters  by 
every  homeward-bound  ship  with  which  they  met. 

They  ran  South  before  the  trade  wind  almost  to  the 
Equator  and  then  hauled  in  for  St.  Thomas.  All  the 
islands  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra  were  explored  without 
success  ;  then  they  worked  slowly  up  along  the  coast. 
Pitiful  scenes  they  saw  in  this  part  of  the  cruise,  for  the 
chief  trade  of  that  coast  was  in  manflesh.  That  in 
dustry  was  still  in  a  flourishing  condition,  for,  though  it 
had  been  forbidden  by  both  England  and  the  United 
States  and  the  cargoes  made  liable  to  confiscation,  it 
had  not  yet  been  declared  piracy.  Therefore  it  was 
dangerous  only  financially  to  its  followers,  and  was 
rendered  enormously  profitable  by  the  very  fact  of  the 
embargo.  Twice  the  Spray  was  brought  to  by  a  man- 
of-war,  under  the  suspicion  that  she  was  a  slaver. 

I  do  not  propose,  however,  to  insert  herein  a  trea 
tise  on  the  slave  trade,  nor  jet  a  description  of  the  Gold 
Coast,  the  Ivory  Coast,  the  Grain  Coast,  etc.  The 
reader  has  not  been  "  shanghaied  "  on  the  Spray  for 
this  long  cruise  merely  to  be  reduced  to  the  condition 
of  Mr.  Waxham,  who,  long  before  the  day  now  to  be 
chronicled,  had  given  over  interest  in  all  the  things  of 
this  world,  except  the  skin  on  the  end  of  his  nose. 
Not  being  hampered  like  the  poor  attorney,  we  will  skip 
through  the  log  until  early  one  morning  on  which  the 
Spray  ran  in  among  some  islands  to  the  North  of  the 
Bissagos,  or  Bijouja  group,  a  little  way  South  of 
Senegambia. 

Close  to  one  of  the  most  seaward  of  these  islands 
the  brigantine  was  laid  to,  and  Tom  went  ashore  in  the 
cutter  as  usual  to  search  for  trace  or  tradition  of  the 
little  English  baby  and  his  guardians.  Waxham  re 
mained  on  board  to  attend  to  his  nose.  Provided  with 


340  Smith  Brunt. 

a  boat  gun  and  small  arms,  the  explorers  pulled  into  a 
little  cove  where  a  sandy  beach  offered  a  good  landing. 
They  went  cautiously,  for  the  natives  were  not  always 
hospitable,  small  blame  to  them.  Tom  stood  erect  in 
the  stern,  and  scrutinized  carefully  the  woods  along  the 
beach.  Suddenly  he  gave  the  order  "Way  enough! 
Hold  all!  "  for  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  dark  forms  in  the 
foliage  and  the  glint  of  a  spear.  A  moment  later  a  tall 
savage,  fully  armed,  appeared  on  the  edge  of  the  woods. 
Tom  had  picked  up  in  Fernando  Po  a  stranded 
Portuguese  trader  who  had  been  long  on  the  Slave 
Coast,  and  who  for  the  sake  of  passage  to  Gibraltar 
had  shipped  as  interpreter  to  the  natives.  This  man 
now  hailed  the  negro  and  assured  him  that  the  stran 
gers  came  as  friends,  while  Tom  held  up  some  trash 
calculated  to  interest  the  inhabitants.  The  savage 
may  or  may  not  have  understood,  but  at  any  rate  gave 
some  order.  At  once  a  score  of  others  came  out  of 

• 

the  cover  and  grouped  themselves  behind  the  leader, 
each  man  with  a  bow  in  his  hand  and  a  long  spear 
slung  back  of  his  shoulder.  The  wise  disposition  of 
the  weapons,  the  quiet,  orderly  movements  and  appar 
ent  discipline  of  the  savages  caught  Tom's  notice  at 
once. 

The  tall  one  then  advanced  halfway  down  the 
beach,  stopped  and  beckoned  to  the  Englishmen. 
Understanding  this  as  an  invitation  to  palaver,  Tom 
ordered  his  men  to  pull  around,  stern  to  the  shore,  and 
backwater  close  in  to  the  beach.  This  made  it  possi 
ble  to  pull  straight  away  in  case  of  attack,  and  also 
brought  the  crew  facing  the  enemy.  He  himself  turned 
about  and  also  faced  the  negro  leader.  The  latter  was 
evidently  a  chief  of  some  note,  for  he  was  of  splendid 
height  and  carriage,  wore  an  imposing  headdress  and 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  341 

bracelets,  and  was  elaborately  tattooed.  He,  and  all 
his  men  also,  wore  an  article  of  dress  most  unusual  in 
those  regions, — nothing' less  than  breeches.  That  he 
was  no  very  primitive  leader,  too,  was  apparent  from 
a  strong-looking  stockade  loopholed  for  arrows,  across 
the  path  leading  from  the  beach  through  the  thick 
jungle. 

"  Tell  him  that  we  are  English  and  hate  slavers,  and 
have  presents  for  him  and  want  to  talk,"  said  Tom  to 
the  interpreter.  "  Ask  him  if  he  knows  the  English." 
The  interpreter  did  so,  while  the  negro  leaned  on  his 
spear  and  listened  attentively.  When  the  speaker  had 
finished,  the  majestic  savage  shook  his  head,  and  then 
remarked: — 

"  English,  eh  ?     'Y  Guy,  I  dunno." 

Tom  nearly  fell  over  backwards.  "  Hullo,  by  all 
that's  rum,"  he  cried,  "  the  beggar  speaks  English  ! 
I  say,  Snowdrop,  where  in  blazes  you  learn  talk 
English,  eh  ?  You're  just  the  man  I  want  to  see.  I 
come  ashore,  you  no  harm  me,  eh  ?  Good  friends. 
No  slaver." 

"All  right,  Cap,"  answered  the  chief,  gravely. 
"  When  white  men  all  look  alike  we  no  afraid.  But 
English  they  make  war.  You  come  ashore.  We  no 
harm  you  ;  we  no  wild  nigger.  Come  see  Excellency." 

"  By  Jove,  I  will,"  cried  Tom.  "  But  look  you,  my 
lily,  there  are  lots  more  white  men  on  the  big  boat 
over  there  and  they  all  have  guns.  Sabe  ?  If  you 
hurt  us,  they'll  hurt  you  like  anything.  Sabe  ? " 

"  All  right,  Cap.  You  no  hurt  us,  we  no  hurt  you. 
You  hurt  us,  we  hontswoggle  your  agility,  sure  pop. 
All  right,  Cap." 

"That's  fair,"  answered  Tom,  u  though  I'd  like  to 
know  where  in  thunder  you  got  such  words  ;  must  have 


342  Smith   Brunt. 

had  a  rum  school-teacher,  and  I  guess  he  came  from  the 
other  side  of  the  pond.  Let  her  drop  in,  lads,  till  her 
stern  grounds,"  he  continued  to  the  boat's  crew. 
"  Half  a  dozen  of  you  come  with  me,  and  bring  the 
muskets.  Gamo,  you  come  too  ;  General  Snowball's 
stock  of  English  may  run  out."  Then  to  the  coxswain, 
"  Higgs,  go  back  to  the  ship  and  tell  Mr.  Brace  to 
come  after  us  with  a  strong  party  in  an  hour,  if  we 
don't  turn  up,  or  at  once  if  you  hear  shots." 

After  telling  off  by  name  the  men  who  were  to  accom 
pany  him,  Tom  jumped  ashore,  followed  by  the  six  sea 
men  and  the  interpreter,  and  marched  up  the  beach 
with  the  chief.  The  other  natives  fell  in  beside  the 
Englishmen  in  single  file,  and  took  their  way  up  the 
steep  path  towards  the  palisade.  Passing  this  through 
a  narrow  gateway,  they  found  it  backed  by  another,  and 
that  by  a  third,  all  of  which  fortifications  would  have 
had  to  be  destroyed  or  scaled  by  an  attacking  party, 
as  they  could  not  have  been  flanked  through  the  thicket 
on  either  side.  Furthermore,  each  stockade  was  lined 
with  well-armed  warriors,  who  would  have  made  the 
storming  no  easy  matter. 

"  Pretty  good  fences  you  have  here,"  observed  Tom 
to  his  guide. 

"  Well  now,  I  guess,"  answered  the  negro.  "  No  bad 
men  can  come  here,  no  no." 

The  more  Tom  talked  with  this  strange  savage,  the 
more  curious  and  excited  he  became.  He  tried  to 
make  all  his  usual  interrogatories  concerning  the  ob 
ject  of  his  search  ;  but  the  black  man  invariably  re 
sponded,  "  You  wait.  You  see  Excellency."  Before 
the  end  of  the  march  Tom  was  confirmed  in  the  idea 
that  the  negro  had  been  tutored  by  some  American, 
for  besides  the  peculiar  expressions  (some  of  which 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  343 

seemed  strangely  familiar  to  him)  he  noticed  a  spread 
eagle  with  its  shield  tattooed  on  the  black  left  arm. 
Underneath  it  were  the  letters  C.  H.,  also  a  pair  of 
fouled  anchors  and  numerous  other  devices.  The  other 
savages,  too,  were  all  decorated  with  the  eagle  and  the 
letters,  and  possessed  a  limited  amount  of  the  English 
language,  also.  They  practiced  their  accomplishment 
on  the  sailors,  and  grinned  and  chattered  in  a  low  tone, 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  yachtsmen,  who  chaffed 
them  and  asked  many  questions. 

At  the  end  of  about  half  a  mile,  they  came  out  upon  a 
clearing  and  saw  before  them  a  little  village  of  huts.  At 
one  end  of  the  village,  fronting  a  sort  of  square,  stood 
two  or  three  huts  much  larger  than  the  rest.  Toward 
these  the  guide  led  the  party.  At  their  approach  a 
great  number  of  tall,  strong-looking  negroes  gathered 
from  all  sides,  all  of  whom  were  clothed  in  breeches 
made  of  skins,  and  so  far  as  Tom  could  see,  all  were 
tattooed  on  the  arm  with  the  spread  eagle,  whatever 
other  designs  they  had  in  addition.  Before  one  of  the 
large  huts,  which  attained  almost  to  the  dignity  of  a 
house,  the  chief  stopped  and  knocked  on  the  door. 

"  Don't  come  in.  Who  be  yer  ?  "  came  from  within, 
in  a  voice  that  made  Tom  start. 

"  Mike,"  replied  the  stately  savage.  "  Big  boat  near 
West  beach.  White  men  come  ashore." 

"  'Y  Guy,  is  that  so  ?  "  cried  the  voice.  "  That's  the 
first  I've  heard  of  it.  Who  is  the  lookout  ?  " 

"  George.  Didn't  he  no  tell  you  ?  He  no  tell  me. 
I  find  it  first." 

"  Tell  nothin'.  He  was  asleep  most  likely  or  suckin' 
cocoanuts,  the  lazy  black  swab!  " 

"  Darn  lubber  !  "  commented  the  chief,  gravely. 
"  Shall  I  gib  him  dozen  ?  " 


344  Smith   Brunt. 

"  Yes  yes.  Give  him  two.  Can't  have  that  kind  o' 
soldierin'.  Have  you  manned  the  palisades  ?  " 

"Aye,  aye,  sir.     Palisade  all  right,  Cap." 

"Which  side  is  on  duty  now?" 

"  Starboard  watch." 

"  Then  call  away  the  Life  Guards  and  turn  out  all 
hands.  Where  are  the  white  men  now  ?  What  do  they 
look  like  ?  " 

"  'Em  good  men.  'Em  all  alike  ;  but  'em  say  'em 
English  Got  some  here  now." 

"  You  don't  say  !  Good  enough,  Mike,"  cried  the 
voice.  "  But  if  they  all  look  alike,  you  be  darn  care 
ful.  They're  man-o'-warsmen,  and  you  don't  want  to 
git  'em  mad  and  git  their  shipmates  after  us.  But 
mind  don't  you  let  'em  get  away  till  I  see  'em.  Where 
be  they  ? " 

"  Right  here,  all  right,  Cap." 

"Take  'em  to  the  town  hall,  and  I'll  be  there  just  as 
soon  as  I  git  these  here  fancy  pants  on.  You  see,  Mike, 
rulers  of  Christendom  must  wear  pants.  That's  the 
difference  'tween  Christians  like  us  and  them  wild  nig 
gers.  What  did  they  go  and  make  these  things  stem 
and  starn  just  alike  for?  When  I  git  'em  on,  I'm 
darned  if  I  can  ever  tell  which  way  I'm  headed." 

Tom  had  listened  to  this  mysterious  voice  at  first 
with  astonishment  and  then  with  hardly  suppressed 
delight  and  merriment.  Unable  at  last  to  contain  him 
self  longer,  he  shouted, 

"  Hullo  you  there,  Carm  Hawkins  !  If  that  isn't  you, 
it's  your  twin  !  " 

"  Guess  that's  pretty  near  my  initials,"  cried  the 
voice  from  within.  "Who  the  dickens  are  you?" 
At  the  same  moment  the  door  partially  opened  and 
there  appeared  a  white  face,  white  only  by  comparison 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  345 

with  the  surrounding  Ethiopians,  for  it  was  none  other 
than  the  tanned  fiz  of  Mr.  Carman  Hawkins,  late  fore- 
topman  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Essex. 

The  moment  Carm  opened  the  door,  he  saw  Tom 
Wycherleigh  ;  but  he  changed  never  a  muscle  in  his 
face,  except  to  say, 

"  Take  those  men  right  to  the  town  hall,  Mike. 
Don't  bite  'em  nor  nothin'  till  I  git  there.  Pipe  the 
side,  call  away  the  poppycock  men,  and  all  the  Sunday 
full  fig." 

"  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  responded  the  solemn  negro  ad 
dressed  as  Mike.  "  This  way,  Cap,"  he  said  to  Tom, 
and  led  him  into  a  large  hut  opposite  the  palace.  It 
was  evidently  a  sort  of  council  chamber,  for  at  one 
end  was  a  raised  platform  supporting  a  wooden  seat 
with  a  canopy  of  skins.  There  was  no  other  furniture, 
except  a  matting  on  the  floor. 

"Was  that  his  Excellency?"  inquired  Tom  of  the 
imposing  savage  hight  Mike. 

"  Yes  yes,"  was  the  answer,  in  the  true  Long  Island 
repetition.  Mike  then  gave  some  orders  in  his  native 
tongue.  Tom,  looking  through  the  doorway,  saw  the 
warriors  arrange  themselves  in  line,  like  the  marines 
when  a  flag  officer  comes  aboard.  A  few  minutes  later 
the  blast  of  a  horn  was  heard,  the  door  of  the  Execu 
tive  mansion  opened,  and  forth  issued  the  ruler  of  the 
State.  He  was  clad  in  brilliant  trousers  of  leopard 
skin  ;  his  blue  navy  jacket  was  surmounted  by  epau 
lettes  of  dry  grass  stained  yellow  ;  and  the  whole  effect 
was  topped  by  a  cocked  hat  made  of  matting.  Fol 
lowed  by  two  dusky  attendants  bearing  respectively  an 
umbrella  and  a  large  fan,  he  proceeded  majestically 
past  the  guard  into  the  courtroom.  Then  seating 
himself  on  the  throne  with  the  fan  and  umbrella 


346  Smith  Brunt. 

bearers  behind  him,  he  addressed  the  visitors  as 
follows  : 

"  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  I  am  pleased  to  find  you,  sir,  in 
my  dominions,  but  I  kindly  regret  to  tell  you  that  you 
and  your  men  are  prisoners  of  war.  This  here  great 
nation  is  an  ally  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
But  you  will  be  treated  good,  bang-up  in  fact,  darned 
if  you  won't  be,  and  I'll  parole  the  whull  lot  of  you. 
We'll  fix  an  exchange  as  soon  as  we  can.  In  fact,  as  I 
ain't  quite  sure  yet  whether  I've  captured  you  or  whether 
you've  captured  me,  I  guess  we'd  better  exchange  our 
selves  right  here  now  and  call  it  square." 

"  Oh,  most  potent  potentate,"  replied  Tom,  as 
gravely  as  he  could,  "  many  thanks  for  your  clemency. 
But  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  there  is  no  need  of 
it,  for  our  countries  are  now  at  peace.  The  peace  was 
proclaimed  over  six  months  ago." 

"You  don't  say  !  Well,  well,  now  that's  good 
enough,"  cried  the  magnate.  "  Make  yourselves  right 
to  home  then,  boys.  Mike,  these  are  all  friends  ;  take 
'em  out  and  show  'em  round.  You  come  along  with 
me,  Mr.  Wycherleigh.  We  can't  talk  comfortable  here. 
Hold  on  a  minute;  discipline  must  be  observed.  Mike, 
pipe  the  side." 

The  horns  brayed  again,  and  Carm  stepped  down 
from  the  dais,  beckoned  Tom  to  accompany  him  and 
marched  back  to  his  house  with  the  same  ceremonies. 
Tom  sent  one  of  his  seaman  back  to  the  shore  to  signal 
the  yacht  and  get  Waxham,  and  then  went  into  Car 
man's  abode. 

"Well,  how  do  you  like  my  government?"  was 
Carm's  first  question. 

"  Splendid,"  answered  Tom.  "  Most  imposing  thing 
I  ever  saw  ;  no  Vice  Admiral  could  touch  it.  But  I 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  347 

say,  Hawkins,  I  thought  you  didn't  believe  in  mon 
archies.  You  seem  to  be  rather  royal  here,  you 
know." 

Carm  shut  one  eye.  "  Monarchy  nothin',"  he  replied. 
"  This  here  ain't  no  monarchy.  This  is  the  great  and 
glorious  Republic  of  Bijunga,  and  I  want  you  to  un 
derstand  that  I'm  the  duly  chosen  and  beloved  execu 
tive  of  a  free  and  enlightened  people.  We  have  an 
election  every  now  and  then  for  practice.  I  learn  'em 
how  to  vote  and  I  count  the  ballots.  I  generally  come 
pretty  near  being  elected.  In  fact,  though  I  do  say  it,  I 
am  the  choice  of  my  grateful  fellow-citizens  every  time. 
Every  office  in  the  place  is  elective,  so  as  nobody  can 
grumble.  There's  Mike,  for  instance.  He's  my 
Secretary  of  State,  Major  General,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  Sheriff,  Fleet  Captain,  and 
Coroner,  accordin'  to  what  has  to  be  done.  I  couldn't 
get  along  without  Mike.  He  ain't  so  beloved  as  I  am 
on  account  of  havin'  to  do  a  lot  of  marine's  work,  but 
bless  your  heart  he's  elected,  too.  When  I  first  started 
I  had  a  fat-headed  old  cuss  named  John  Henry.  He 
was  about  as  much  use  for  a  government  officer  as  a 
lame  toad  in  a  gob  o'  tar ;  so  I  held  an  election,  and 
John  Henry  went  out.  I  ran  the  campaign  for  both 
sides,  and  the  returns  was  overwhelmin'  for  Mike. 
There  was  lots  of  party  spirit  though,  now  I  tell  you. 
'Y  Guy,  I  dunno  but  what  maybe  there's  gettin'  to  be  a 
little  too  much  party  spirit.  There  was  two  citizens 
hit  on  the  head  in  that  election,  in  exercisin'  the 
franchise.  I  had  to  come  out  and  cool  'em  down,  and 
explain  how  that  wasn't  regular." 

"Are  your  people  always  satisfied  with  the  result  of 
the  elections  ?"  asked  Tom. 

"Yes  yes,"  replied    his    Excellency.      "Once    in    a 


348  Smith   Brunt. 

while,  maybe,  there'll  be  a  sorehead  ;  but  I  can  always 
fix  him  up  with  an  Order.  That's  another  mighty  use 
ful  notion,  better  even  than  elections  for  some  cases. 
Did  you  notice  what  a  lot  of  tattooin'  all  these  niggers 
has?" 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  said  Tom.  "  I  noticed  it  particularly. 
They  all  have  your  Great  American  Eagle  on  their 
arms,  and  by  Jove  now  I  see  what  C.  H.  stood  for  !  " 

"  Just  so,"  said  Carm.  "  C.  H.  is  the  mark  of  the 
Hawkins  Light  Infantry.  They're  the  crack  military 
organization  of  the  island,  and  they're  in  the  starboard 
watch.  The  larboard  watch  has  the  President's  Life 
Guards.  They  all  love  to  be  tattooed  'most  as  much  as 
to  hold  office,  so  I  have  all  sorts  of  Orders  that  I  let 
'em  into  when  they're  good,  and  each  Order  has  a  tat 
too  mark.  They  all  belong  to  the  Order  of  the  Bird-of- 
Freedom.  That  was  established  afore  I  got  here,  and  it 
give  me  the  idea.  There  was  something  mighty  queer 
about  that,  but  I'll  tell  you  about  it  in  a  minute.  I  got 
up  the  Order  of  the  Fouled  Anchor,  and  the  Order  of 
the  Crossed  Arrows,  and  the  Double  Headed  Snake, 
and  the  Wheel,  and  a  whull  lot  more.  The  finest  of  all 
is  the  Leopard  Skin  Pants.  Only  me  and  Mike  and 
one  or  two  others  belongs  to  that  Order.  You  see  I 
tore  my  trousers  all  to  pieces  in  the  woods,  when  I 
first  come  ashore  here,  and  Mike's  wife  made  me  these  ; 
so  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  throw  a  little 
presteege  around  'em.  The  man  who  sighted  your 
ship  first  will  get  this  Order.  It's  given  only  for  that. 
The  other  Orders  are  sometimes  given  for  important 
inventions  like  a  stone  kettle  pot  ;  that's  to  encourage 
manufactures.  The  principal  manufacture  is  ship 
building.  I  found  the  timbers  of  a  pretty  good-sized 
craft  all  set  up  and  part  way  planked,  when  I  got  here, 


The  Republic  of  Bijunga.  349 

and  we've  finished  the  plankin'  and  got  her  pretty  well 
decked  over.  The  man  who  makes  a  new  tool  or  the 
most  treenails  or  the  most  planks  every  month  gets  an 
Order.  But  they're  most  often  given  for  political  rea 
sons  to  hush  up  any  party  who  sours  on  Mike  or  wants 
his  job.  The  Double  Headed  Snake  will  generally 
make  him  hot  for  Mike." 

"  Excellent,"  cried  Tom.  "  But  that  system  is  not 
so  distinctly  republican  as  the  other.  I  know  of  some 
thing  very  like  it  in  my  own  country.  But  now, 
Hawkins,  please  begin  at  the  beginning  and  tell  me  how 
in  the  deuce  you  got  to  this  island  and  this  position. 
We  had  all  nearly  come  to  the  conclusion  that  you  had 
been  murdered  in  Southampton,  when  we  found  you 
had  not  been  pressed." 

"Came  derned  near  both,"  said  Carm,  with  a  grin. 
"  Didn't  miss  gettin'  pressed  by  more'n  the  thickness 
o'  my  pants.  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  I  want  you  to  give  me 
a  written  certificate  of  findin'  me  here,  'cause  I  am  go- 
in'  to  need  it  when  I  get  back  to  Smith  Howell's  store. 
The  sin  of  lyin'  has  found  me  out  ;  for  nobody'll  ever 
believe  this  yarn  of  mine,  and  it's  true,  every  word  of 
it.  I  couldn't  improve  it  any  by  lyin'.  I've  tried. 
Yes  yes,  I've  tried  my  level  best  to  think  how  I  could 
touch  it  up  a  little,  and,  by  ginger,  I've  come  back  to 
the  truth  every  time,  'cause  that's  the  best.  But 
nobody'll  ever  believe  it,"  Carm  continued,  sadly  shak 
ing  his  head.  "  Nobody'll  ever  believe  it  in  the  wide 
world,  and  all  on  account  o' my  reputation." 

"Well,  I'll  believe  anything  you  say,  Carm,"  said 
Tom.  "  So  heave  away,  and  let's  have  it  all  the  way 
from  Southampton.  There's  where  we  last  heard  of 
you." 

"  All  right,  Cap,  but   my   yarn  is   long,"  said   Carm. 


350 


Smith   Brunt. 


"  Before  I  begin  just  tell  me  whether  you've  heard  any 
thing  of  Mr.  Brunt  and  Commodore  Lawrence.  Did 
they  come  through  the  rest  of  the  war  all  right?  " 

"  All  right,  both,"  answered  Tom.  "  I  saw  Mr.  Brunt 
at  Gibraltar  in  June.  He  was  with  the  American  fleet, 
after  the  Barbary  pirates,  and  he  had  command  of  a 
tidy  little  schooner.  Teddy  Lawrence  was  with  him." 

"  Glory  be!  "  cried  Carm.  "  Command  of  a  schooner, 
and  me  not  with  him!  Oh,  dear,  dear,  I'd  ought  to  ha' 
been  his  gunner,  'stead  o'  playin'  fool  government  here 
with  a  lot  o'  niggers.  Well,  here's  how  it  was." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

PROVING  TRUTH  STRANGER  THAN  FICTION. 

**  \1  7HEN  you  were  eatin'  your  supper  that  night  in 
»  V  Southampton,  I  was  in  the  taproom  a-drink- 
in'  with  a  lot  o'  sailormen,  all  sociable  and  nice  as  could 
be,  when  in  come  an  ugly  appearin'  cuss  whose  looks 
kind  o'  puzzled  me.  His  hair — well,  sir,  cochineal  dye 
would  ha'  made  a  green  spot  on  it.  Thinks  I,  'Willy, 
I've  seen  your  bright  face  somewheres  before,'  and  I 
squinted  at  him  careful.  Then  all  of  a  sudden  it  come 
to  me  that  he  was  a  swab  that  had  been  a-crimpin'  for 
a  privateer  once  in  our  place  to  home.  Old  Uncle  Ben 
Orrin  was  a-goin'  to  souse  him  good  for  it  in  the  horse 
trough,  but  Mr.  Brunt,  he  wouldn't  let  him.  But  now 
in  Southampton,  the  snoozer's  face  was  all  marked  up 
kind  o'  curious  like  as  if  he'd  had  the  smallpox,  and 
yet/  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno  now,'  thinks  I,  '  it  ain't  exactly  like 
that  neither.'  I  made  up  my  mind  pretty  quick,  though, 
that  it  wasn't  no  smallpox  nor  any  other  disease  ;  it 
was  shot  marks,  that's  what  it  was.  And  then  I  called  to 
mind  that  one  night  just  about  the  time  that  rooster  was 
hangin'  round  the  South  Side,  I'd  got  into  a  muss  with 
pirates,  or  smugglers,  or  somethin',  on  the  beach  along 
with  Mr.  Brunt,  and  I'd  filled  some  one  of  'em  full  o' 
bird  shot.  I  couldn't  see  much  at  the  time  bein'  as  it 
was  night  time,  but  I  knowed  I  hadn't  missed,  'cause  I 
heard  the  son  of  a  pirate  holler.  Well,  when  I  see  this 
cuss  labelled  that  way,  I  put  two  and  two  together 
pretty  quick,  and  it  fitted  like  a  duck's  foot  in  the  mud. 


352  Smith  Brunt. 

'  That  spells  C.  Hawkins,  his  mark,'  thinks  I,  '  and  I'd 
like  to  know  some  more  about  you,  Pinkie.'  So  I 
passed  remarks  with  him,  and  when  I  said  horse  trough 
and  smallpox  he  begun  to  git  ugly.  He  was  just 
rangin'  up  alongside  for  close  action,  when  somebody 
sung  out  that  his  skipper  wanted  him  ;  and  his  skipper 
wasn't  nobody  else  but  that  gol  darn  turncoat  Yorker, 
de  Voe,  Squire  Lawrence's  nephew — no  shame  to  the 
Squire,  he  ain't  to  blame  for  him.  I  beg  your  pardon, 
if  he's  a  friend  of  yourn.  I  remember  now  he  was 
stayin'  in  your  house  when  we  was  there  ;  but  it's  all 
true  just  the  same.  I  hope  he  ain't  a  friend  of  yourn, 
because  I've  got  some  donations  for  him,  if  ever  I  get 
him  under  my  lee." 

"  You  can  do  what  you  like  to  him  for  all  I  care," 
said  Tom,  "  but  don't  come  up  in  the  wind  about  him. 
Keep  on  with  your  yarn." 

"Well,  it's  a  good  deal  about  him,  as  you'll  see  in  a 
minute.  I  followed  my  blue-headed  friend  out  o'  the 
room,  bein'  all  the  more  curious  when  I  heard  the 
name  of  de  Voe.  I  can't  tell  you  why  I  was  curious; 
that's  not  my  affair,  and  I  promised  Mr.  Brunt  to  keep 
my  tongue  stoppered  about  it,  but  it  was  somethin' 
mighty  funny  now  I  tell  you.  Anyhow  Mr.  de  Voe,  he 
give  Firetop  a  note  and  he  says,  *  Take  that  to  Mrs.  de 
Voe  ;  she'll  give  you  a  letter  for  Mr.  Wycherleigh,'  he 
says,  'and  then  you  come  right  back  to  the  boat  at 
Queen  Street  landing,'  he  says.  The  Mr.  Wycherleigh 
he  meant  was  your  brother,  'cause  I  see  him  go  along 
with  the  red-head,  and  so  I  kept  right  in  their  wake. 
They-er,  I-er, — 'y  Guy,  I  dunno."  Carm  hesitated  a 
moment,  as  though  at  a  loss  for  an  expression. 

"Well,  anyhow,  after  they'd  got  through  what  they 
was  about,  they  separated,  and  I  stuck  to  the  privateer. 


Truth  Stranger  than   Fiction.         353 

I  made  up  my  mind  to  run  him  aboard  and  capsize  him  if 
I  could,  when  we  got  back  near  the  tavern,  and  then 
hand  him  over  to  you  and  Mr.  Brunt.  I  thought  maybe 
Mr.  Brunt  might  like  to  ask  him  a  few  questions. 

"  As  we  were  goin'  through  a  narrow  street  towards 
the  wharf  and  not  far  off  from  it,  I  see  my  man  look 
down  a  side  street  he  was  crossin'  and  suddenly  begin 
to  run.  I  made  all  sail  after  him,  and  when  I  went  by 
the  side  street,  b'  Guy  I  didn't  cross  more'n  half  an 
inch  ahead  of  a  crowd  of  fellers  in  pea  jackets  and 
shiny  hats.  I  knowed  what  they  was  quick  enough, 
and  away  I  scudded,  ambitious  like  a  cat  with  her  tail 
afire.  I  wasn't  askin'  for  nothin'  more  now,  but  just  to 
get  back  safe  to  the  Nelson's  Head.  I  meant  to  cut 
around  the  corner  by  the  wharf  and  keep  along  that 
way  to  the  tavern,  but  the  moment  I  got  to  the  corner 
I  saw  they'd  blockaded  that  course.  There  was  two 
other  parties  of  the  gang,  one  on  each  side,  comin' 
along  the  wharf  so  as  to  meet  just  about  at  our  street. 

"  Well,  my  friend  ahead  made  straight  across  the 
open  country  for  the  boat  landin',  yellin'  like  a  good 
one.  *  Press  gang,  press  gang/  says  he  ;  'up  with  you, 
and  take  me  off.  Lively  !  ' 

"At  that  1  see  a  lot  of  fellers,  who  I  guessed  were  his 
boat's  crew,  jump  up  from  below  onto  the  wharf,  each 
man  Jack  of  'em  with  a  stretcher  or  an  oar  in  his  hand. 
There  I  was  right  between  the  two  sides,— and  each 
side  calculatin'  that  I  belonged  to  the  other.  Oh,  it 
was  real  nice.  I  couldn't  enjoy  the  evening  though. 
I  was  kind  of  out  o'  sorts.  I  made  up  my  mind  the 
best  thing  to  do  would  be  to  drop  over  the  wharf  dur 
ing  the  party,  and  then  swim  along  to  some  quiet  place 
away  from  the  busy  crowd  where  I  could  get  a  little 
time  to  myself.  I  thought  of  this  while  I  was  crossin' 


354  Smith   Brunt. 

the  open  space,  close  after  my  chase  with  the  press 
gang  right  at  my  starn,  one  of  'em  fishin'  for  me  with 
a  boat  hook.  That  man  with  the  boat  hook  was  real 
annoyin'. 

"  Next  minute  the  services  begun.  I  didn't  carry  out 
my  plan  of  retirin',  seein'  as  I  was  given  the  floor  pretty 
near  in  the  openin'  prayer.  I  see  some  very  nice  con 
stellations  and  things,  and  after  that  I  never  knowed 
what  did  happen,  except  by  hearsay.  When  I  woke  up 
I  was  lyin'  in  the  bottom  of  a  boat,  and  somebody 
kicked  me  and  says: 

"  'Here's  Bill  now,'  he  says.  '  No,  it  ain't,  neither,' 
says  he.  'Who  the  devil  is  it,  anyhow  ?  By  G — '  he  says, 
'  lads,  d —  if  we  haven't  got  one  of  'em.  Here's  a  go. 
We've  swapped  Bill  for  one  of  the  King's  men,'  says  he. 
'  That's  fair  play,  now,  ain't  it  ?' 

"  I  was  pretty  groggy,  but  I  see  by  this  time  that  I  was 
bein'  taken  off  somewheres  in  a  ship's  boat,  and  from 
what  I  heard,  knowed  it  wasn't  a  man-o'-war'sboat,  and 
that  I  must  have  been  gobbled  by  the  other  party.  So 
I  says: 

"  '  King's  grandmother's  ducks!  '  says  I.  '  I  ain't  no 
King's  man,  and  if  you  be  honest  seamen,'  I  says,  '  I'll 
thank  you  to  put  me  ashore  ag'in.' 

"  Well,  they  only  just  laughed  at  that,  and  one  of  'em 
says  as  how  he  guessed  they  had  as  good  a  right  to  get 
a  crew  as  a  man-o'-war.  Pretty  soon  we  come  alongside 
a  schooner,  and  we'd  hardly  tumbled  out  and  run  up 
the  boat  afore  we  got  under  way.  I  found,  just  as  I  sus 
pected,  that  she  was  de  Voe's  Dart,  and  one  o'  the  first 
men  I  laid  eyes  on  was  my  fair-haired  friend,  who  had 
got  clear  of  the  press  gang  same  as  I  did.  When  he  see 
me,  he  cursed  quite  some,  I  tell  you.  It  made  me  feel 
real  happy  and  to  home  to  git  such  a  hearty  welcome, 


Truth  Stranger  than   Fiction.         355 

"  Next  mornin'  we  was  out  o'  sight  o'  land  and  headed 
a  little  West  o'  Sou'west,  judgin'  by  the  sun.  We  must 
ha'  got  out  of  the  channel  that  afternoon,  because  we 
kept  off  to  the  South  acrost  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  next 
evenin'  made  Finisterre.  We  didn't  haul  in  anywheres 
though,  but  just  kept  right  on  a  good  deal  to  the  West 
o'  South  ;  and  it  wasn't  long  before  I  got  a  pretty  good 
guess  about  what  kind  o'  craft  I  was  on.  She  was 
loaded  with  old  muskets  and  powder,  and  all  sorts  of 
fancy  truck  for  tradin'  with  niggers,  but  I  made  up  my 
mind  it  wasn't  no  ivory  that  we  was  after.  More  like 
ebony,  and  live  ebony  at  that.  When  they'd  got  well 
out  to  sea,  they  fitted  up  the  'tween  decks  with  gratin's 
and  a  whull  lot  of  irons  ;  and  then  1  knew  just  why  we 
was  goin'  South. 

"  The  skipper  he  recognized  me  right  off,  when  he  see 
me  in  the  mornin'.  You  see  I'd  knowed  him  since  he 
was  a  boy  and  used  to  visit  to  Squire  Hen  Lawrence's. 
We  used  to  love  each  other,  too,  the  way  hens  love 
water.  He  wasn't  any  more  friendly  than  usual  neither, 
when  he  found  me  joined  for  his  nigger  stealin'  voyage. 
He  held  a  prayer  meetin'  over  me  with  his  shot-marked 
coxswain,  and  I  believe  the  derned  red-headed  villain 
wanted  to  cut  my  throat,  because  I  heard  the  skipper 
say,  *  No,  no,  you  d —  old  bloodsucker  !  '  The  Yorker 
wasn't  quite  bad  enough  for  that,  and  I'll  bear  that  in 
his  favour.  I  made  up  my  mind  I'd  keep  both  eyes  on 
old  Pepper-face,  though,  and  it  was  good  I  did.  He  tried 
a  nasty  trick  on  me  more'n  once.  I  was  sent  out  on  the 
main  gaff  once  to  clear  the  gaff-topsail  sheet,  when  he 
was  standin'  by  the  fife  rail.  By  some  mighty  funny 
accident  the  peak  halliards  got  adrift,  and  the  peak 
went  by  the  run.  But  I  was  expectin'  somethin'  of  the 
kind,  and  had  got  a  good  grip  on  the  clew  of  the  top- 


356  Smith   Brunt. 

sail,  so  I  swung  clear  and  then  wound  my  leg  in  the 
top-sail  sheet  and  hung  aloft  quite  comfortable." 

"  Carm,  Carm,"  interrupted  Tom,  warningly. 

"  Well,  maybe  I'd  better  cut  that  out,"  admitted  Carm. 
"  That's  the  only  trimmin'  though,  honest.  The  beggar 
did  try  to  let  me  down,  but  I'd  racked  the  peak  hal 
liards.  I  might  just  as  well  have  done  it  the  other  way 
though,  and  it's  a  good  deal  prettier.  I  got  along 
pretty  well  with  the  rest  of  the  crew,  though  such  a  lot 
of  brethren  I  never  see  before  and  never  want  to  be 
shipmates  with  again.  There  was  every  kind  of  a  dirty 
rascal  from  most  every  place  ever  you  heard  of  from 
Punk's  Hole  to  Turkey. 

"  Well  to  shorten  up  the  log,  we  never  touched  no- 
wheres  until  one  mornin'  it  fell  calm  right  off  this  here 
island.  We'd  run  out  of  the  trade  by  that  time  and  were 
haulin'  up  to  the  Eastward,  so  while  I  don't  know  ex 
actly  the  bearin's  of  this  great  nation,  I  guess  we  must  be 
pretty  well  down  the  coast.  They  must  have  been  luffin' 
in  for  the  Gulf  o'  Guinea.  I  ain't  never  been  nearer  to 
this  coast  than  Port  Praya,  where  we  went  in  the  Hornet, 
so  I  dunno  much  about  it  and  only  guess.  Anyhow  we 
were  lollopin'  up  and  down  close  to  this  place  one  fine 
mornin',  when  the  skipper  calls  up  his  redhead  (who 
was  coxswain  of  the  gig),  and,  after  talkin'  to  him  a 
spell,  has  the  gig  called  away.  Then  he  walks  up  to 
me  and  says  he,  with  that  nice  sweet  smile  that  makes 
everybody  love  him — just  as  sweet  as  a  raw  beach  plum, 

"  '  My  dear  Mr.  Hawkins,'  says  he,  '  I  fear  we  shall 
have  to  part  with  your  company  now.  I'm  a-goin'  to 
put  you  on  that  island,'  says  he.  '  I  am  told  the  climate 
is  healthy  and  the  neighborhood  agreeable,  so  no  doubt 
you'll  like  it  better  than  with  us.  I  hope  you've  en 
joyed  the  trip,'  he  says. 


Truth  Stranger  than  Fiction.          357 

"  '  Thank  you,'  says  I, '  I've  had  a  very  enjoyable  time, 
but  I  hope  you  won't  think  I  was  too  forward  in 
pressin'  for  the  invitation.  If  I've  really  got  to  leave 
you  now  and  settle  down  in  these  parts,'  says  I,  '  I 
wish't  you'd  let  some  o'  my  friends  know  where  I'm 
livin',  and  ask  'em  to  drop  in  and  pass  the  time  o' 
day  once  in  a  while.  I  expect  likely  it'll  be  kind  o' 
lonesome  hereabouts,'  I  says. 

"  He  grinned  at  that,  and  said  maybe  he'd  stop  in 
himself  when  he'd  transacted  his  present  business.  I 
suppose  he  didn't  want  me  as  a  witness  to  his  slavin' 
tricks.  It  wasn't  very  nice  to  be  marooned  on  a  des 
ert  island  like  that  ;  but  I  wasn't  so  sorry  over  it  as 
you  might  think,  since  I  was  dern  glad  to  git  out  o'  the 
company  o'  that  red-headed  skunk.  I  knew  of  more'n 
one  reason  why  he'd  like  to  have  me  out  o'  the  way, 
and  when  you  feel  every  time  you  turn  your  back  to  a 
shipmate  that  he  may  whittle  your  spine,  it  gits  kind 
o'  wearin'  on  the  nerves.  They  give  me  a  ratty  old 
gun  and  some  powder  and  shot  and  hard-tack,  and  put 
me  ashore  and  rowed  away.  I  kept  my  eye  on  Blue 
beard  up  to  the  last  minute. 

"  Well,  sir,  when  I  sat  down  to  think  over  my  berth, 
I  begun  to  guess  it  wasn't  no  basket  sociable.  They 
didn't  put 'me  on  this  island.  Bluebeard  picked  out  a 
small  one,  south  of  here  a  little  ways,  made  o'  neat, 
clean  rocks  and  sand.  I  took  my  gun  and  went  pokin' 
round  lookin'  for  dinner,  and  I  wasn't  never  keener 
about  gunnin'  or  huckleberryin'  in  my  life,  now  I  tell 
yer.  I  wanted  to  save  the  hard-tack  long  as  I  could. 
But  I  didn't  find  enough  for  a  blamed  fly  with  stomach 
trouble.  *  Howsomever/  thinks  I,  'there  may  be  some 
sort  o'  wild  fowl  stirrin'  towards  evenin' ; '  so  I  pulled 
up  what  few  hummocks  of  grass  there  was  and  fixed 


358  Smith   Brunt. 

'em  up  into  somethin'  that  would  do  for  stool,  so  as 
to  be  all  set  out  and  ready  for  anythin'  that  might 
come  along.  As  I  was  stickin'  'em  up  on  a  sand  spit, 
I  spied  a  canoe  comin'  my  way  and  jumped  in  behind 
a  rock  with  my  gun.  The  canoe  come  up  to  the  shore 
and  a  man  in  it.  Soon  as  he  come  ashore,  I  stepped 
out  and  says,  '  Fine  mornin',  Cap.' 

"Well,  sir,  that  was  one  scared  nigger.  He  let  out  a 
yell,  and  went  for  his  canoe  ambitious,  and  then  he  did 
ever  paddle.  I  was  afraid  I  was  goin'  to  lose  him. 
But  soon  as  he  got  about  a  gunshot  away  he  quit  pad- 
dlin'  and  looked  at  me.  I  put  down  my  gun  and  held 
out  my  hands  to  make  a  friendly  appearance,  and  I  says  : 
'  I  ain't  agoin'  to  hurt  yer,  George  dear.  Come  ashore 
and  take  somethin'.  I  beckoned  to  him,  and  rubbed 
my  belly  and  pointed  down  my  mouth.  Seein'  I  was 
alone,  he  come  back  slowly,  and  landed  again  and 
walked  up  to  me  and  all  around  me.  Then  he  seemed 
to  git  quite  sociable,  and  pointed  to  his  canoe  and 
made  signs  for  me  to  come  with  him. 

"  *  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,'  says  I.  *  You  may  be  a  cannibal 
for  all  I  know,'  says  I.  But  I  made  up  my  mind  that  so 
long  as  I  couldn't  find  nothin'  to  eat  myself  I  might  as 
well  help  some  poor  cannibal  out  o'  the  same  scrape. 
So  I  says,  'All  right,  Cap  ;  but  don't  bite  your  Uncle 
Carm  before  he's  cooked,  anyhow.'  I  took  my  gun  and 
got  into  the  canoe,  and  he  shoved  her  off. 

"  There  was  another  paddle  in  her,  so  I  peeled  off  my 
jacket  and  rolled  up  my  shirt- sleeves  to  lend  a  hand. 
Just  as  soon  as  I  done  that,  he  begun  to  ever  chatter 
and  point  at  my  arm  and  take  on  as  though  he'd  gone 
crazy.  He  bowed  and  scraped  and  finally  went  right 
down  on  his  marrer  bones,  like  he  was  going  to  pray 
to  me. 


Truth   Stranger  than   Fiction.          359 

"  '  What's  got  into  yer,  George  ?  '  says  I. 

"  He  put  his  finger  on  the  eagle-bird  that  was  pricked 
on  my  forearm,  and  then  he  held  out  his  own  arm. 
And,  by  ginger,  sure  enough,  there  was  the  very  same 
thing  on  him,  bird,  gridiron  and  all,  done  out  in  proper 
colours  just  as  regular  as  any  Yankee  man-o'-warsman  ! 
Well,  sir,  I  was  puzzled  enough,  but  mighty  glad  just 
the  same.  I  says,  *  That's  all  right,  Cap.  Same  lodge/ 
says  I.  'Guess  C.  Hawkins  don't  get  boiled  this  trip.' 

"  Well,  he  landed  me  on  this  island,  and  then  brought 
me  up  here.  By  the  way,  this  here  city  is  the  capital, 
and  its  name  is  Hawkinsville.  All  the  people  come 
around  and  looked  at  my  eagle-bird,  and  all  showed 
me  they  had  the  same  mark.  They  made  quite  a  fuss 
over  me,  and  I  shook  hands  all  round,  and  a  very  en 
joyable  time  was  had.  Then  they  all  began  shoutin' 
for  the  Queen,  the  Queen.  I  didn't  understand  'em 
then,  but  I  know  now  that's  what  they  was  hollerin'. 

"  Pretty  soon  along  come  a  woman,  that  I  could  see 
right  away  was  a  very  different  kind  of  a  nigger  from  the 
rest.  She  had  a  straight  nose  just  like  you  or  me,  and 
thin  lips,  and  she  wasn't  near  so  black  as  the  rest.  She 
was  the  Queen.  What  knocked  me  silly  about  her  first 
off  was  that,  b'  Guy,  she  could  talk  English,  and  pretty 
good  too.  I'd  thought  I'd  caught  a  word  or  two  of 
English  among  the  rest.' 

"  Well,  to  shorten  my  yarn,  now  comes  the  reason  of 
it  all,  and  that's  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the 
whull  thing.  Here's  where  you'll  think  I'm  lyin' ;  but 
I  ain't,  and  I  can  prove  it.  You  remember,  o'  course, 
old  Uncle  Ben  Orrin,  the  fine  big  feller  who  was 
killed  on  the  Chesapeake — what's  the  matter  ?" 

Tom    had    sprung   from    his    seat.     "Aye,  aye,"   he 


360  Smith   Brunt. 

cried.  "  I  remember  him  well  enough.  What  about 
him  ?  Go  ahead,  man,  go  ahead." 

"  Well,  maybe  you  won't  believe  it,  but  it's  gospel 
truth.  He'd  been  on  this  very  island  and  they  used  to 
think  he  was  a  regular  live  idol  ;  and  when  he  left,  all 
the  people  here  tattooed  spread  eagles  on  their  arms 
like  his'n,  and  have  kept  it  ever  since  as  a  mark  of 
their  nation.  He  is  the  one  who  started  building  the 
boat.  I  knowed  the  old  man  had  been  took  off  an 
island  somewheres  on  this  coast,  'cause  the  Iroquois's 
told  us  that  much  ;  but  just  think  o' me  bein'  marooned 
on  the  same  place,  or  next  to  it.  Don't  that  beat  all  ?  " 

"  Wasn't  Teddy  Lawrence  with  him  ?  "  cried  Tom. 

Carm  looked  at  him  a  moment  in  hesitation  before 
he  answered.  "  Well,  yes,  as  long  as  you  seem  to 
know  it,  I  don't  mind  tellin'  you,  Ted  was  with  him.  I 
suppose  somebody  has  told  you  how  they  come  ashore 
at  our  place  together.  I  don't  believe  Mr.  Brunt  ever 
told  you  that,  though,  and  I  wouldn't  say  a  word  about 
it  myself  if  you  hadn't  known.  B'ss  Lawrence 
adopted  the  baby,  and  he's  always  passed  for  the 
Squire's  own  son,  and  that's  good  enough.  It  seems 
kind  o'  mean  to  be  diggin'  up  the  little  feller's  begin- 
nin's.  I  don't  know  where  Uncle  Ben  got  him." 

"  Haven't  you  learned  how  they  came  here  ?  "  asked 
Tom,  earnestly. 

"  Well,  no,  not  altogether.  They  come  with  the 
Queen,  that  I  know  ;  but  she  won't  tell  not  another 
denied  word.  There's  a  story  about  a  white  queen, 
too,  who  is  buried  up  yonder  ;  her  grave's  the  most 
sacred  place  of  the  island.  No  nigger  ever  goes  near 
that,  except  the  queen,  and  she  spends  all  her  time 
there.  She  stayed  here  after  Uncle  Ben  went  off  with 
Teddy." 


Truth  Stranger  than   Fiction.          361 

"  That's  it  !  That's  it  !  "  cried  Tom.  "  Hullo  there, 
Waxham.  Oh,  I  say,  Waxham,  I've  found  the  whole 
thing." 

The  attorney  had  appeared  in  the  doorway  of  the 
hut  in  company  with  one  of  the  seamen  and  "  Mike." 

"  Have  you,  indeed  ?  "  replied  the  older  man.  "  I 
congratulate  you.  And  how  did  you  discover  it  ?  " 

"Why,  Hawkins  here  knows  all  about  it,  or  at  least 
most  of  it,  and  has  just  told  me.  Oh,  by-the-way,  let 
me  present  you  to  his  Excellency,  President  Hawkins, 
the  ruler  of  this  island  which,  it  seems,  is  a  model  re 
public.  Your  Excellency,  this  is  Mr.  Waxham,  my 
lawyer  man." 

"  Pleased  to  meet  you,  sir,"  responded  Carm,  bow 
ing  with  dignified  gravity  and  a  slight  wink  at  Tom. 

Waxham  looked  a  little  puzzled,  but  returned  the  sal 
utation,  and  then  inquired  : 

"  And  what  has  his  Excellency  told  you  exactly,  if  I 
may  ask  ?" 

"  Why,  he  says  that  the  tall  seaman  and  young  Law 
rence  were  on  this  island,"  declared  Tom,  and  then  he 
repeated  Carm's  story  in  regard  to  Orrin. 

"  Very  extraordinary  and  most  interesting,"  com 
mented  Waxham.  "  Exceedingly  so.  And  how  does 
his  Excellency  know  that  his  predecessor  was  the  man 
you  say  ? " 

"  What  a  hand  you  are  for  asking  questions,  Wax- 
ham  !  Why  Hawkins  here  is  the  nephew — he  knew — 
hang  it  all,  come  to  think  of  it,  Carm,  how  do  you  know 
it  was  your  uncle  ?  Oh,  why  on  account  of  the  eagle 
mark,  wasn't  it  ?" 

"  No  no.  Not  that,  because  pretty  near  every 
American  sailor  has  that/'  answered  Carm,  deliber 
ately.  "  I  know  it  in  three  ways.  First  of  all,  from 


362  Smith   Brunt. 

the  stories  the  niggers  tell  about  some  of  the  things 
Uncle  Ben  done.  You  saw  those  there  bulkheads 
down  yonder  by  the  shore?  Well  now, you  know  well 
enough  there  ain't  no  livin'  man  now,  and  I  don't  know 
as  there  ever  was  any  but  him  and  Samson,  who  could 
lift  and  set  up  any  one  o'  them  spiles  ;  but  they  say  he 
sot  a  lot  of  'em  in  place  all  alone.  It  was  him  showed 
'em  how  to  build  those  things  for  a  fort.  Secondly, 
descriptions  of  him  ;  his  size,  and  his  thunderin' 
pigtail  that  would  have  done  for  a  spare  cable.  But 
the  third  thing  settles  it.  On  his  shoulder  he  had 
a  scar  that  he'd  got  in  the  old  war,  under  Commodore 
John  Paul  Jones.  Along  one  side  of  that  scar  was 
tattooed  B.  H.  R. — that  stood  for  Bong  Horn  Richard, 
which  is  French,  as  maybe  you  gentlemen  know.  At 
least  the  first  part  of  it  is  French,  'cause  the  Richard 
she  was  a  frigate  Commodore  Jones  had  got  from 
the  Frenchmen.  On  the  other  side  of  the  scar  was 
September  23rd,  1779,  the  night  they  licked  the  Sera- 
pis.  Mr.  Brunt  told  me  what  it  all  meant,  because  he 
guessed  it  ;  but  the  old  man  himself  for  some  reason 
or  other  wouldn't  never  say  a  word  about  it.  Well, 
now,  gentlemen,  hangin'  up  in  the  church  over  yonder, 
is  a  skin  with  a  picture  of  that  scar  painted  on  it  just 
like  that.  They  keep  it  hung  up  there  as  a  sort  of  a 
religious  thing.  Mike  says  the  old  man  was  pinked 
that  way,  and  that  he  wouldn't  never  let  no  nigger 
copy  it  on  himself,  and  after  he  went  no  one  was  al 
lowed  to  neither.  I  haven't  ever  broken  that  rule, 
though  any  man  in  the  island  would  carry  me  round 
on  the  back  of  his  neck  for  the  rest  of  his  life  if  I  let 
him  put  those  marks  on  his  black  hide.  Now  ain't 
that  pretty  good  proof  ?  " 

"  It  certainly  seems  to  establish  the  identity  of  your 


Truth  Stranger  than   Fiction.          363 

predecessor  with  your  uncle,  and  indicates  no  doubt 
that  this  is  the  island  from  which  young  Mr.  Lawrence 
and  his  strange  guardian  were  rescued,"  quoth  Wax- 
ham  deliberately  ;  "  but  beyond  that,  nothing.  I  can 
not  for  the  life  of  me  see,  Sir  Thomas,  how  we  have 
found  these  two  to  be  the  man  and  child  who  fled  from 
Mogador  with  the  two  women." 

"Why,  they  came  here  with  two  women  !. "  Tom  ar 
gued.  "  And  the  rest  we  can  get  of  course  from  this 
Queen,  of  whom  Hawkins  speaks.  It's  all  plain  sailing 
now." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  put  in  Carm.  "  If  you  get  any 
yarn  out  of  her,  you'll  do  more  than  I  can.  What  is  it 
you  want  to  know  ?  What's  it  all  about,  anyway  ?" 

Tom  went  over  his  story,  which  roused  in  Carman 
more  wonder  than  joy. 

"  Well,  you  can  try  what  you  can  do  with  the  Queen," 
said  he  at  the  finish.  "  I  guess  she's  up  at  the  grave 
now.  Come  along,  we'll  go  up  there." 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE    ISLAND    QUEEN. 

• 

LED  by  Carman,  the  two  Englishmen  passed  out  of 
the  village  into  a  narrow  path  through  the  woods, 
and  up  a  steep  ascent  near  by.  At  the  summit  they 
found  a  clear,  grassy  spot,  whence  they  could  look  over 
the  tree  tops  out  to  sea,  in  an  unbroken  sweep.  But 
they  did  not  regard  the  view  ;  their  whole  attention 
was  fixed  at  once  on  the  center  of  the  scene. 

There  stood  a  green  mound,  its  nature  indicated  by 
two  long,  narrow  stones  lashed  together  so  as  to  form  a 
cross.  All  around  the  lonely  grave  was  a  border  of 
wild  flowers,  and  at  that  moment  the  flowers  were 
being  watered  by  a  dark  hand.  But  the  dark  hand  be 
longed  to  one  who,  as  Carman  had  said,  was  very  dif 
ferent  from  the  other  islanders.  At  the  visitors' 
approach,  she  straightened  up,  and  cried  out  sharply: 

"  Ah,  sahib,  why  you  bringing  men  here  ?  Jow,  jow, 
go  way,  Kalawallahs." 

"  That's  what  she  calls  the  niggers,"  explained  Carm 
to  the  others,  and  then  replied  to  the  woman:  "No 
Kalawallahs  here,  Mis'  Mahal.  These  are  sahibs  like 
me,  friends  of  mine.  They  just  come  in  brigantine 
you  see  off  yonder." 

Upon  seeing  the  Englishmen,  the  guardian  of  the 
grave  bowed  low,  and  murmured,  "Salaam,  sahib." 
Tom,  who  had  cruised  in  the  East  Indies,  recognized 
at  once  the  tongue  and  the  beautiful  erect  figure  of  a 
Hindoo  woman.  She  looked  respectfully  at  Waxham; 
364 


The  Island  Queen.  365 

but  when  her  gaze  passed  to  Tom  it  became  searching 
and  intense.  Waxham  was  about  to  open  the  interview 
circumspectly,  but  had  got  no  further  than  "  My  good 
woman,  you  seem  very  devoted," — when  the  young 
sailor,  after  his  usual  fashion,  dashed  in  with 

"  How  do,  ayah  ?  My  name  is  Wycherleigh.  I  say 
now,  weren't  you  an  ayah  of  my  brother  Arthur  ?  " 

The  woman  started  like  a  deer  at  a  rifle  shot,  and 
spread  her  hands  behind  her  as  though  to  protect  her 
sacred  mound.  But  all  she  said  was,  ''  Why  you  com 
ing  here  ?  " 

Tom  explained  his  mission  more  at  length,  seconded 
by  Waxham.  Jointly  and  severally  they  argued  and 
exhorted  for  a  long  time,  but  the  strange  woman  re 
mained  a  sphinx.  Finally  the  lawyer  played  his  ace  of 
trumps.  He  had  brought  the  locket  ashore  with  him, 
and  now  produced  it  and  showed  the  portrait. 

Instantly  the  woman  uttered  a  cry,  and  sprang  for 
ward  as  though  to  seize  the  trinket.  Waxham  held  it 
away  and  the  poor  thing  sank  on  her  knees. 

"  Let  me  essee  it,  sahib,"  she  pleaded.  "  Oh,  my 
memsahib,  my  memsahib  !  " 

Waxham  held  it  toward  her,  and  she  pressed  it 
against  her  forehead  and  sobbed  wildly.  Then  spring 
ing  up  she  demanded,  almost  fiercely:  "  Where  you  get 
ting  this?  That  belonging  to  Benjamin  Sahib.  WThat 
you  do  to  him  and  baba  ?  I  have  plenty  sepoys. 
Lalla  Mahal  queen  here.  I  can  have  you  killed." 

"  That's  all  right,  Mis'  Mahal,"  put  in  Carm,  sooth 
ingly,  who  now  thought  it  time  to  bear  a  hand  in  the 
discussion.  "  They  ain't  done  nothing  to  baby.  I 
know  that.  Didn't  I  tell  you  your  baba  was  an  Ameri 
can  midshipman  now,  and  a-goin'  to  be  a  commissioned 
officer  in  the  U.  S.  Navy  ?  You  tell  them  truth  and 


366  Smith  Brunt. 

maybe  it'll  be  a  good  thing  for  baba.  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno, 
though,"  he  added  in  an  undertone  to  Tom;  "  beggin  ' 
your  pardon,  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  I  ain't  so  blamed  anx 
ious  to  see  you  make  an  Englishman  out  of  him,  and  a 
kind  of  a  lord  at  that." 

The  woman  turned  towards  Tom,  who  had  been 
deeply  affected  by  this  scene,  and  perhaps  showed  it. 
"  You  not  looking  like  bad  man,"  she  said  slowly,  as 
she  scrutinized  his  face  again.  "  You  looking  like 
Captain  Sahib,  puckah  sahib.  But  I  not  telling,  till 
mark  come.  Proper  mark.  Esshow  mark,  Sahib,  and 
I  tell  everyt'ing." 

"  What  in  the  deuce  does  she  mean  ? "  asked  Tom. 

" '  Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  replied  Carm.  "  That's  just 
what  she  always  says.  '  Not  telling  before  proper 
mark  come.'  If  you  want  to  get  anything  out  of  her, 
you've  got  to  find  out  what  '  proper  mark  '  means,  and 
git  it." 

The  soundness  of  this  observation  was  demonstrated 
by  half  an  hour  more  of  vain  questioning  and  cajolery. 
The  ayah  would  tell  nothing,  and  evidently  regretted 
her  temporary  surprise,  for  she  denied  all  knowledge 
of  any  "  Captain  Sahib  "  or  Bombay  Lancers,  or 
Bombay  itself.  In  despair  the  Englishmen  returned  to 
the  village  with  Carm,  and  at  his  suggestion  sent  for  the 
omnitalented  Mike.  President  Hawkins  explained  that 
"  Mike  can  talk  English  good.  I  learned  him  most  of 
it,  myself." 

From  the  tall  negro  they  heard  corroboration  of 
Carman's  story  in  a  tale,  strangely  told  in  a  mixture 
of  Long  Island  and  Hindostanee  English  with  an 
African  accent,  of  which  tale  the  substance  was  as 
follows :  Many  years  ago  Lalla  Mahal  had  come  to  the 
island  in  a  boat  with  the  great  Benjamin  Sahib  and 


The  Island  Queen.  367 

little  Baba  and  Memsahib,  the  Beautiful  White  Queen. 
Benjamin  Sahib  was  tall  like  a  tree  and  had  a  great  hair 
rope  down  his  back,  and  had  the  strength  of  ten  men. 
Memsahib  was  like  the  sunlight  on  the  water,  but  she 
was  very,  very  tired.  No  one  knew  whence  they  had 
come  except  that  they  had  come  over  the  big  water,  led 
by  the  little  box  of  magic  that  tells  people  how  to  go. 
They  did  everything  to  make  the  White  Queen  well,  but 
one  day  she  grew  very  sleepy,  and  sent  Lalla  Mahal 
quickly  for  Benjamin  Sahib  and  Baba.  The  black 
people  were  outside  the  hut,  but  could  look  in  and  see. 
The  WThite  Queen  gave  Baba  to  Benjamin  Sahib,  and 
he  held  up  his  hand  and  said  something  slowly.  Then 
Memsahib  had  smiled  and  had  prayed,  lying  there  on 
her  bed,  and  everybody  kept  very  still.  By  and  by 
Benjamin  Sahib  knelt  down  by  the  White  Queen  and 
listened,  and  then  he  got  up  again  and  went  and  leaned 
his  face  against  the  wall  and  cried  like  a  little  baba. 
And  all  the  people  cried.  Then  they  took  the  White 
Queen  up  on  the  hill  and  put  her  there  to  sleep,  and 
Benjamin  Sahib  prayed  some  prayer,  and  tied  the  two 
stones  together  and  put  them  at  her  head. 

Benjamin  Sahib  stayed  a  long  time  on  the  island 
and  was  a  good  chief  until  one  day  a  great  ship  came 
and  lay  still,  for  the  wind  was  all  gone.  Then  he  and 
Baba  went  away  to  the  ship.  Before  he  went  away 
Benjamin  Sahib  had  said  that  no  one  must  touch  the 
White  Queen's  bed  on  the  hill,  until  some  one  came 
with  the  Mark.  Yes,  the  three  oldest  men  knew  what 
the  Mark  was,  but  they  would  not  tell  until  one  of 
them  died.  Then  the  other  two  would  tell  the  next 
oldest  man.  Some  day  Baba  himself  would  come  and 
bring  the  Mark  with  him  and  would  take  the  White 
Queen  away.  Lalla  Mahal  was  waiting  for  that.  She 


368  Smith   Brunt. 

would  not  go  when  Benjamin  Sahib  went,  for  she  feared 
the  sea  and  wanted  to  stay  with  the  White  Queen  until 
Baba  should  come  for  her.  For  some  day  Baba  would 
be  an  American  lascar  burrasahib,  which  is  a  very  great 
chief  on  the  big  water. 

They  showed  him  the  locket.  Yes,  that  was  Mem- 
sahib,  the  White  Queen.  It  was  surely  magic,  such 
tattooing  as  that. 

That  was  all  the  information  they  could  get.  It  was 
enough  for  Tom  Wycherleigh;  but  Waxham  still  shook 
his  head. 

"  How  could  the  fugitives  from  Mogador  have  come 
so  far  in  an  open  boat  ?  "  he  objected. 

"  Well,"  drawled  Carm,  "  I  guess  when  the  first  boat 
wore  out  they  got  another  one,  with  a  compass  in  it  too. 
The  boat  they  come  in  is  here  yet,  and  it  didn't  never 
belong  to  no  Moorish  fisherman.  It's  a  ship's  yawl- 
boa  U" 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

HOW    SMITH    AND    HERBERT    MET    AGAIN    AT    GIBRALTAR. 

A  DAY  or  two  after  the  discoveries  the  Spray  sailed 
**•  from  the  roadstead  of  Bijunga,  bearing  with  her 
the  President  of  that  nation.  His  Excellency  relin 
quished  the  reins  of  government  with  becoming  resig 
nation,  and  took  leave  of  his  sorrowing  fellow-citizens 
in  a  model  speech  wherein  he  exhorted  them  to  be 
patriotic  and  vigilant,  to  keep  up  their  interest  in  pol 
itics,  but  to  put  country  before  party  and  accept  peace 
ably  the  will  of  the  majority  and  Mike,  to  improve  in 
manufactures,  and  above  all  to  mind  the  Queen. 

The  ayah  refused  to  leave  her  vigil  by  the  grave. 
Tom  had  at  first  suggested  that  the  coffin  be  disin 
terred  and  brought  to  England,  but  gave  over  the  idea 
upon  Carman's  earnest  warning  that  such  a  thing 
could  not  be  done  without  killing  every  negro  on  the 
island.  "And  it  ain't  only  them  that  would  be  killed 
either,"  added  Carm.  "  These  here  bucks  can  fight 
like  blazes.  We've  licked  everything  hereabouts,  and 
licked  'em  good." 

So  they  sailed  away  to  the  Northward  again,  having 
finished  their  mission  in  Africa;  for  even  Waxham  ad 
mitted  now  that  the  chain  seemed  almost  complete. 
When  Tom  triumphantly  put  the  question,  "  Well,  Wax- 
ham,  what  do  you  think  now  ?  "  the  attorney  shook 
his  head  rather  gloomily  and  replied  : 

"I  think  that  you  are  not  Sir  Thomas  Wycherleigh. 
I  hope  you  are  satisfied.  I  still  feel  bound  to  advise 

369 


370  Smith   Brunt. 

you  that  .your  title  is  impregnable,  particularly  while 
this  last  witness  remains  silent  and  beyond  the  four 

seas,  but," here  the  lawyer  paused  a  moment,  and  the 

keen  eyes  actually  filled  as  they  looked  at  Tom,—"  you 
are  so  different  from  most  people  whom  I  have  met  in 
my  practice,  that  there  is  no  use,  I  presume,  in  offering 
you  the  advice." 

"  Hope  not,  Waxham,"  answered  the  sailor.  "  And  I 
say,  old  parchment,  you  can't  make  me  believe  that 
you''d  be  such  a  scalawag  as  to  really  suggest  any 
such  thing,  you  know,  either." 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  lawyer,  with  a  sigh. 
"That  which  is,  is  but  that  which  can  be  proven. 
What  would  happen  to  us  all,  if  the  law  ever  drifted 
away  from  that  principle  ?" 

"  Very  well,"  replied  Tom.  "  Here's  Higgins  to  an 
nounce  dinner.  I'm  going  below.  When  you  prove  to 
me  that  you're  hungry,  I'll  give  you  something  to  eat. 
Come  along  and  argue  your  case." 

In  about  two  weeks  they  made  the  narrow  gate  of 
the  Mediterranean  and  entered  therein  to  get  news  of 
the  American  fleet,  of  which  Sir  Theodore  Wycherleigh 
formed  a  mite.  They  found  the  harbour  of  Gibraltar 
crowded,  and  entering  at  eight  bells,  saw  break  out  on 
every  side  the  stars  and  stripes.  At  home  we  patriotic 
people  are  accustomed  to  see  our  emblem  in  daily  des 
ecration,  on  the  breasts  of  blatant  idiots,  on  the  pages 
of  worse  than  blatant  journals,  in  every  form  of  vulgar 
flaunting,  and  sordid  trade.  We  see  it  used  to  adver 
tize  his  wares  by  every  swindling  hawker,  from  the 
peddler  to  the  politician;  we  hear  it  mouthed  in  ful 
some  phrases  and  belittled  with  turgid  names;  until 
we  have  nigh  lost  our  love,  and  tolerate  or  even  laugh 
at  the  profaners.  But  go  you  into  exile,  where  for 


At  Gibraltar.  371 

many  months  you  get  never  a  glimpse  of  those  stars, 
until  on  some  bright  morning  you  come  into  a  port 
where  the  water  is  sparkling  and  the  sunlight  is  glan 
cing  from  the  topsides  of  a  fleet  of  war,  and  you  hear  a 
bugle  and  of  a  sudden  see  flash  from  every  peak,  clear 
in  the  blue  sky,  that  Flag.  Then  you  will  feel  what 
Carman  Hawkins  felt.  The  last  time  he  had  seen  the 
Gridiron  aloft  was  when  it  flew  above  the  dying  men 
of  the  Essex.  Jack  does  not  use  the  colours  for  a  neck 
tie. 

Well  might  any  of  our  seamen  have  been  proud  that 
morning  at  Gibraltar;  for  there  lay  fifteen  vessels,  with 
three  hundred  and  twenty  guns,  forming  one  fleet  of 
the  young  nation  that  had  just  come  out  of  the  strug 
gle  with  her  mighty  parent.  The  sight  of  a  seventy- 
four  with  the  stripes  at  her  peak  especially  elated 
Carm;  but  even  the  line-of-battle  ship  took  second 
place  in  his  mind  to  a  trim  little  schooner  inshore  of 
her. 

"  How  do  I  know  it's  his  ?  "  he  cried.  "  Well,  now, 
just  look  at  her  foresail.  Don't  you  see  it's  furled 
down  on  deck  ?  Did  you  ever  see  that  before  ?  No, 
sir,  you  never  did;  because  that's  a  private  pet  notion 
of  mine  and  one  other  man's,  and  the  first  two  letters 
of  that  other  man's  name  is  Smith  Brunt.  He's  got  a 
boom  on  that  foresail.  No  crazy  lug  sail  for  him, 
a-slattin'  the  sheet  blocks  round  the  deck  every  which 
way  and  never  settin'  real  good.  That's  her;  yes  yes, 
that's  her;  now  just  see  if  it  ain't." 

Sure  enough  on  coming  around  under  the  schooner's 
stern,  they  read  the  word  "  Flame  "  and  Tom  hailed  to 
learn  if  "  Captain "  Brunt  was  on  board.  The  reply 
came  back  that  the  Captain  had  gone  ashore,  and  the 
same  answer  was  given  to  an  inquiry  for  Mr.  Lawrence. 


372  Smith   Brunt. 

Immediately  after  anchoring,  Tom  put  off  in  his  gig, 
with  Carman.  As  they  came  up  to  the  landing  stage 
Carm  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise. 

"  Well,  I'll  be  darned,"  he  said,  "  if  there  ain't  Raynor 
Terry,  yes,  b'  Guy,  and  Smith  Raynor  to  Raynor's  South 
alongside  of  him,  and  Frank  Hen  Swezey  too,  sure  as 
I'm  born.  By  ginger,  Cap,  we're  out  of  our  reckoning. 
That  ain't  the  Rock  o'  Gibraltar;  that  there  is  Fire 
Island.  Or  else  I  guess  Cap'n  Smith  done  some 
crimpin'  to  home.  That's  the  Flame  s  boat,  Mr.  Wy- 
cherleigh,  for  a  farm.  They'll  tell  us  where  to  find  the 
skipper  and  Commodore  Ted." 

Many  of  the  Long  Island  seamen  knew  Carm,  and  at 
his  sudden  reappearance  were  almost  excited.  Ray 
nor  Terry  looked  upon  him  as  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
showed  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.  At  the  mention  of 
Smith's  name,  Terry  looked  grave. 

"  Mr.  Lawrence  is  up  the  street  here,  looking  for  the 
Commodore,  but  as  for  the  skipper,  I  only  wish't  I 
knew  where  he  was.  Guess  we'll  be  lucky  if  we  ever 
see  him  again  alive." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  exclaimed  Tom. 

"  What  ails  him  ?  "  inquired  Carm. 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  all  I  know,"  said  Terry.  "You 
remember  that  nephew  of  Squire  Lawrence's,  Carm  ? 
That  Yorker,  named  de  Voe  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  had  no  particular  reason  to  disremember 
him,"  replied  Carm.  "  I've  got  a  few  forget-me-nots 
on  my  own  account  I'm  a-savin'  for  his  sweet  sake. 
What's  he  been  a-doin'  now  ? " 

"  More'n  plenty.  He's  got  a  schooner  here  called 
the  Dart.  There  she  lies  over  yonder,  the  one  with 
the  long  topmasts.  Folks  says  he  stole  her  from  her 
owners  and  went  for  a  pirate.  Anyhow  that  there 


At  Gibraltar.  373 

schooner  turned  up  when  we  were  at  Carthagena  gettin' 
under  way  to  come  here.  We  had  just  finished  with  the 
Barbary  pirates  then,  and  we  shook  'em  good  too,  the 
whull  lot  of  'em  from  Algery  to  Tripoli.  She  sailed 
along  with  the  fleet,  keepin'  close  to  us  all  the  time. 
When  we  come  to  anchor,  Cap'n  Brunt  called  away  the 
gig.  I'm  coxswain  of  it.  When  we  come  alongside  the 
float,  there  was  the  Yorker  waitin'  for  us.  He  and 
the  Cap  walked  off  together  a  little  ways.  I  couldn't 
hear  what  they  said,  but  de  Voe  looked  nasty  and  hadn't 
passed  more'n  one  or  two  remarks,  when  the  little 
skipper  up  and  swatted  him  right  square  acrost  the 
face  with  his  glove. 

"  Glove  ?  "  cried  Carm.  "  He'd  ought  to  ha'  used  a 
stretcher." 

"Wish't  he  had,"  replied  Terry.  "I  looked  for  a 
hot  set-to  then,  but  the  cuss  only  just  bowed  very 
stiff,  with  a  kind  of  a  smile  almost,  and  says,  just  as 
polite  as  a  tea-party,  "  You  will  be  aboard  your  vessel 
this  evening?"  Cap'n  Smith  says,  "  At  your  ser 
vice,"  and  bowed  too,  and  then  they  separated. 

"  Was  that  all  ?  That's  kind  of  unsatisfying"  com 
mented  Carman,  but  Tom  Wycherleigh  whistled. 

"That's  what  you  might  think,"  replied  Terry,  "but 
it  ain't  all,  not  by  a  long  shot.  Among  officers  them 
things  means  a  heap  more'n  they  look.  That  evening 
an  English  officer  come  aboard,  and  I  heard  the  skip 
per  tell  him  to  go  see  Mr.  Tompion  of  the  Ontario. 
This  morning  early  the  Cap  went  over  to  the  Ontario, 
and  took  her  second  Luff  ashore  with  him  and  then 
sent  us  back  to  the  schooner.  I  made  up  my  mind 
somethin'  was  wrong,  and  on  the  way  back,  sure 
enough  I  saw  a  boat  from  the  Dart  with  her  skipper 
and  that  same  Englishman.  They  was  makin'  for  the 


374  Smith  Brunt. 

other  side  of  the  bay,  and  somehow  or  other  (of  course 
/  don't  know  how)  the  lubbers  got  foul  of  us  and  got 
turned  bottom-side  up.  Serve  'em  right  for  tryin'  to 
cross  the  bow  of  a  man-o'-war's  gig.  We  fished  'em 
out  very  kindly,  and  towed  their  boat  over  to  the  Flame. 
We  took  a  lot  of  trouble  and  wasted  a  lot  of  time  over 
the  swabs;  but  they  were  nowise  grateful,  and  swore. 
Soon  as  we  saved  their  lives  they  had  the  cheek  to  ask 
us  to  row  'em  all  the  way  back  to  the  Dart  'stead  of 
goin'  on  to  our  own  ship;  but  we  took  'em  along  and 
let  'em  row  back  themselves  after  they'd  got  their  old 
boat  bailed  out.  While  they  were  fussin'  over  her,  I 
told  Te — Mr.  Lawrence  how  things  lay.  Maybe  it  was 
none  of  my  business,  but  I  don't  want  to  be  going  back 
to  Bayhampton  without  the  Cap,  just  on  account  of  any 
such  wicked  fool  trick  as  a  duel.  The  little  mid,  he's 
near  crazy.  He's  up  street  here  now,  chasin'  round 
after  the  Flag  to  stop  the  business." 

"By  Jove'"  muttered  Tom,  who  had  listened  anx 
iously  to  this  narrative,  "I  wish  I  could  stop  this 
thing,  if  not  already  too  late.  But  I  can't  see  how  to 
interfere." 

"Can't  see  how  to  interfere?"  cried  Carm,  in  un 
usual  perturbation.  "  I'll  show  you  how  to  do  that 
pretty  quick,  if  I  get  my  eyes  on  th'at  slave  trader. 
Raynor  Terry,  you  blamed  fat-headed  lubber,  what  did 
you  let  Smith  go  for  ?  Why  didn't  you  mutiny  and 
take  him  aboard  the  flagship,  or  something  to  keep 
him  out  o'  this  ?  What  are  you  going  to  say  to  old 
Cap'n  Bob,  if  you  go  home  without  Smith,  eh  ?  " 

"  Keep  your  shirt  on,  Carm.  I  done  the  best  thing  I 
could.  I  told  Mr.  Lawrence;  and  he  can  do  a  great 
deal  more'n  we  can." 

"  There   is   nothing   you    can  do,  Carm,"  said  Tom, 


At  Gibraltar.  375 

gloomily.  "  Captain  Brunt  wouldn't  thank  you  for  in 
terfering,  I  can  tell  you.  It  would  put  him  in  a  very 
awkward  position,  and  he'd  be  furious." 

"  I  don't    care  a  d "  cried    Carm.      "  I'd  rather 

have  him  mad  than  dead.  Guess  a  position  in  a  six- 
foot  box  is  full  as  awkward  as  any.  Ain't  you  got  any 
idea  which  way  they  went  ? "  he  inquired  of  Terry. 

"  They  took  one  of  them  kind  o'  buggies  on  the 
wharf,  that's  all  I  know,"  answered  Raynor.  "  The 
Dart's  people  were  pulling  West  when  I  turned  'em 
over." 

"  I  know  well  enough  where  they  went,"  said  Tom. 
"I  say,  Carm,  look  here,"  he  cried,  suddenly,  "  can 
you  swear  to  that  man  de  Voe  having  been  engaged  in 
the  slave  trade  ?'' 

"  I  didn't  actually  see  'him  take  the  niggers,"  an 
swered  Carm,  "  but  I  can  swear  to  a  skunk  without 
seein'  him  suck  eggs.  I  don't  need  no  swearin'.  You 
show  me  where  the  swab  is,  and  I'll  make  him  do  the 
.swearin'.  Oh,  slavin' ain't  all  he's  done.  He  was  at  the 
bottom  of  that  game  on  the  Beach,  three  years  ago.  He 
and  his  dirty  gang  tried  to  murder  Smith  that  time,  too. 
I'll  learn  him  to  shoot  the  best  feller  and  finest  officer 
that  ever  lived,  let  alone  maroonin'  honest  seamen." 

"  By  Jove,  that's  so,"  cried  Tom.  "  He  did  leave 
you  to  die  on  that  island,  didn't  he?  That  was  a  pi 
rate's  trick,  and  he  lied  to  me  about  it.  That's  enough. 
Come  along,"  and  Tom  dashed  off,  followed  closely  by 
Carman. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Bay  of  Algeciras  from  the 
Rock  there  is  a  certain  recess  in  the  steep  bluffs.  Along 
the  top  of  the  bluffs  ran  a  carriage  road  ;  but  in  the 
recess  the  beach  was  hidden  from  the  road.  On  this 
particular  morning,  on  a  rock  near  the  edge  of  the 


376  Smith  Brunt. 

sand,  sat  two  men  in  navy  clothes,  each  with  the  single 
epaulette  of  a  lieutenant. 

"I'll  just  tell  you  this,  Smith,"  said  one.  "I'm  not 
going  to  let  you  stay  here  much  longer.  The  beggar 
is  nearly  an  hour  late  now.  You  have  done  all  you 
ought.  I  don't  believe  he  means  to  show  up  at  all." 

"  Nonsense,"  answered  Smith  Brunt.  "  He  is  not  a 
coward,  anyway,  though  he  may  be  almost  everything 
else.  Something  has  happened  to  delay  him.  We  have 
another  good  hour  before  we  need  go  back  to  the  fleet." 

"  Well,  it's  perfectly  outrageous.  Whoever  heard  of 
such  a  thing  on  the  part  of  any  one  with  the  slightest 
pretension  to  being  a  gentleman?  Hanged  if  I  think  I 
ought  to  let  you  fight  him  after  this." 

"  Then  I  should  be  forced  to  do  so,  Jack,  without 
your  gracious  permission,"  laughed  Smith.  "  Here 
comes  a  boat.  Perhaps  th*ey  are  coming  by  water." 

The  boat  soon  came  close  enough  to  show  in  its  stern 
Herbert  de  Voe  and  a  man  in  an  undress  English  army 
uniform.  At  that  time  officers  usually  wore  their  uni 
form,  though  off  duty.  They  landed  about  a  hundred 
yards  away,  and  Smith's  second  advanced  to  meet 
them  with  no  very  affable  expression. 

"We  owe  you  an  explanation,  Mr.  Tompion,"  said 
the  English  officer,  who  did  not  look  over  agreeable 
himself.  "But  this  delay  is  hardly  our  fault.  A  lot 
of  your  civil,  free  and  enlightened  sailors  ran  us  down 
as  we  were  starting.  We  had  to  bail  out  our  boat  and 
go  back  and  change  all  our  clothes,  besides  losing  a 
very  tidy  pair  of  pistols." 

"  I  am  sorry  you  got  in  the  way  of  any  of  our  men," 
answered  Jack  Tompion.  "  But  you  needn't  have  been 
nervous  over  the  mishap;  even  a  soldier  can't  catch 
cold  from  salt  water.  However,  now  that  you  are 


At  Gibraltar.  377 

here  at  last  all  dry  and  comfortable,  let  us  get  through 
as  soon  as  possible." 

"  The  sooner  the  better.  We  will  use  your  instru 
ments,  if  you  please." 

They  loaded  the  pistols,  they  paced  off  the  ground, 
and  placed  face  to  face  the  two  men  who  had  played 
together  as  boys.  Never  in  his  life  had  Smith  Brunt 
pointed  a  weapon  at  a  fellow-being,  except  when  in  the 
heat  of  battle  and  performance  of  his  duty  he  had  shot 
the  coward  on  the  Chesapeake.  He  had  never  liked 
Herbert  de  Voe  and  knew  that  Herbert  hated  him;  but 
that,  alone,  would  never  have  led  him  to  a  duel.  He  had 
seen  the  woman  he  worshipped  stolen  from  her  father 
by  this  man;  but  all  thought  of  vengeance  for  that  act 
he  had  dismissed  since  learning  of  the  marriage.  He 
suspected  that  the  poor  wife  had  been  ill-treated;  yet 
he  would  not  have  assumed,  unasked,  the  office  of 
avenging  and  freeing  her.  But  all  this  heaped-up 
powder  was  ready  for  a  spark.  The  spark  had  flown 
dangerously  near  it  on  the  occasion  when  Herbert 
struck  at  Decatur,  and  was  only  averted  by  the  Com 
modore's  command.  Now,  however,  de  Voe  had  cast 
a  flaming  brand  on  the  pile. 

On  returning  to  England  after  his  last  meeting  with 
Smith  at  Gibraltar,  Herbert  had  learned  of  his  wife's 
departure  and  that  she  had  gone  on  the  same  ship  with 
the  American  officer.  He  knew  that  she  had  never 
cared  anything  for  her  boyish  admirer,  and  he  did  not 
for  a  moment  think  her  guilty  now;  but  leaped  at  the 
conclusion  that  Smith  had  officiously  induced  her 
return  to  America,  and  no  doubt  had  endeavored  to 
make  the  most  of  his  opportunities.  For  de  Voe  was 
of  that  modern  order  of  knowing  ones,  cross-bred  be 
tween  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican,  who  thank  God 


378  Smith   Brunt. 

that  other  men  are  even  as  they.  He  had  always 
sneered  at  Smith  for  a  prig  and  a  hypocrite,  and  now 
almost  found  a  certain  satisfaction  in  his  discovery. 
As  soon  as  he  had  settled  all  his  affairs  in  England,  he 
returned  to  the  Mediterranean,  sought  out  the  Ameri 
can  squadron,  and  followed  the  Flame  until  he  had  the 
opportunity  of  meeting  her  commander  ashore.  He 
had  not  sufficient  chivalry  in  his  breeding  to  even  cloak 
his  quarrel,  being  too  anxious  to  expose  Master  Blifil. 
On  the  boat  landing  at  Gibraltar  he  had  first,  very 
properly,  demanded  to  be  told  his  wife's  abode.  Smith 
told  him  very  quietly.  Herbert's  next  question  the 
young  officer  construed  as  an  insult  not  only  to  himself, 
but  to  the  wife,  and  naturally  struck  de  Voe's  mouth 
the  moment  it  uttered  the  words. 

And  now,  having  been  thus  forced  into  the  duel,  the 
quiet  Long  Islander  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of 
firing  in  the  air,  or  anything  of  the  kind.  He  meant  to 
go  through  with  the  affair  in  deadly  earnest,  and  pun 
ish  with  death,  if  he  could,  the  crime  worst  of  all  in  his 
eyes,  profanation  of  a  woman's  name.  Only  that 
thought,  and  none  of  the  many  sneers  and  injuries 
received  from  the  man  before  him,  was  in  his  mind,  as 
he  raised  his  pistol  at  the  word  and  glanced  coolly 
along  the  barrel. 

Fire! 

From  Smith's  weapon  came  only  a  click,  while  a 
bullet  tore  across  his  right  arm  just  above  the  Essex 
mark,  and  the  pistol  dropped  to  his  side. 

"Another  shot  for  my  man  !  "  cried  Tompion.  "  His 
pistol  missed  fire  !  " 

"  Another  shot  for  both  then,  if  you  choose,"  replied 
de  Voe's  second. 

To   this  Tompion  objected    violently,  while   he    set 


At  Gibraltar.  379 

himself  to  bind  up  Smith's  arm.  He  claimed  that  de 
Voe  had  had  his  shot  and  must  stand  Smith's  fire. 
Smith  was  eager  to  go  on  with  the  duel  on  his  oppo 
nent's  terms;  but  his  second  absolutely  refused  to 
allow  it. 

"  He  asked  for  only  one  shot,  and  that  was  what  we 
agreed  on,  so  you  have  done  all  that  is  necessary," 
Tompion  declared.  "  He  is  the  challenger;  he  is  the 
one  who  was  struck,  and  he  has  had  his  crack  at  you. 
You  are  entitled  to  your  shot  if  you  want  it,  but  damme 
if  he  shall  have  two." 

"  You  ought  not  to  have  agreed  on  any  such  thing," 
answered  Smith,  hotly.  "  I  didn't  come  out  to  go 
through  a  form.  I  want  to  finish  this  thing;  but  you 
don't  suppose  I  want  to  murder  him  unarmed  ?  " 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  Smith,"  commanded  the  second. 
"  You're  in  my  hands,  and  I  am  responsible  for  you.  I 
know  what  I  am  about." 

Smith  grew  angry  and  tried  to  mutiny  outright,  but 
Tompion  held  the  pistol,  stoutly  refused  to  give  way, 
and  intimated  that  he  was  ready  on  his  own  account  to 
take  on  both  de  Voe  and  the  Englishman,  provided  they 
did  not  each  want  two  shots  to  his  one.  The  wrangle 
was  indeed  becoming  pregnant  of  another  duel,  when  it 
was  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  shout.  Looking  up, 
the  duelists  beheld  above  them  two  figures  leaping 
and  sliding  in  a  cloud  of  dust  down  the  bluff. 

"  Ah,  some  of  your  friends  who  might  have  come  too 
late,"  sneered  de  Voe. 

"You  coward  and  liar!"  roared  the  Ontario's  Lieu 
tenant,  now  so  beside  himself  as  to  forget  the  courte 
sies  of  the  occasion.  "  Who  was  too  late,  I'd  like  to 
know  ?  This  comes  of  your  delaying  an  hour!  " 

Before  any  further  compliments  could  be  exchanged 


380  Smith   Brunt. 

the  foremost  intruder  was  between  the  combatants, 
grinning  from  ear  to  ear. 

"  Mornin',  Cap,"  he  observed  to  de  Voe.  "  I  missed 
your  pleasant  face  so  in  that  popular  waterin'  place 
where  you  left  me,  that  I  had  to  sell  my  house  and 
come  after  you.  Hope  you're  real  glad  to  see  me 
again." 

"You  insolent  hound!"  cried  de  Voe,  "keep  your 
familiarity  for  your  chum.  Get  out  of  my  way!  " 

"  Steady  there,  Mr.  Marooner,"  answered  Carm.  "  I 
know  my  manners  all  right,  but,  by  thunder,  the  lowest 
ship's  boy  that  ever  ate  government  beans  has  a  right 
to  sass  the  master  of  a  slaver.  Ain't  that  so,  Mr. 
Wycherleigh  ? " 

"  Quite,  by  Jove,"  assented  Tom.  "  Sorry  to  interrupt 
your  amusement,  Smith,  but  this  pirate's  not  fit  for  you 
to  fight.  He's  a  felon." 

"You  shall  answer  to  me  for  that,  Sir  Thomas 
Wycherleigh,"  said  de  Voe,  fiercely,  and  then  walked 
over  to  the  side  of  Smith  Brunt,  who  was  leaning 
against  a  rock  suffering  with  his  arm  and  almost 
dazed  by  the  sudden  apparition  of  Tom  and  the  long- 
lost  Carman. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Joseph  Surface,"  said  de  Voe  in  a  low  tone, 
"  it  may  interest  you  to  know  that  I  am  going  to  find 
my  wife  and  kill  any  one  who  stands  in  the  way.  I  will 
finish  with  you  later.  Au  revoir,  my  worthy  young 
man." 

With  that  he  turned,  and  dashed  along  the  beach  to 
wards  his  boat. 

"  Stop  him!  "  cried  Smith.     "  Shoot  him,  Tompion!  " 

Wounded  as  he  was,  he  started  after  the  fugitive 
himself;  Carman  Hawkins  and  Wycherleigh  rushed  by 
him  with  the  same  object;  but  de  Voe,  with  the  start  he 


At  Gibraltar.  381 

had,  reached  his  boat  far  ahead  of  the  pursuers  and 
leaped  in.  His  men,  who  took  in  the  situation  and 
were  all  ready,  shoved  off  and  pulled  vigorously  away 
towards  the  Rock,  while  de  Voe  laughed  and  waved  his 
hand  from  the  stern. 

"We  must  get  back  to  the  port  and  catch  that 
hound,"  cried  Smith,  and  bounded  up  the  path  to  the 
road,  making  the  blood  pump  from  his  wound.  The 
others  followed  him,  including  de  Voe's  astonished  and 
deserted  second.  At  the  top  of  the  cliff  they  came  full 
sail  into  a  squad  of  local  police,  just  arrived  in  a  hack. 

"  Pardon,  signer,  but  we  must  arrest  you  for  the 
duello,"  said  the  commandant  of  the  force,  as  Smith 
ran  slap  into  him  and  caught  him  from  falling. 

"  Yes,  I  know,  I  suppose  so  ;  come  along  if  you  like," 
replied  Smith,  and  made  for  the  first  cabriolet,  shouting 
to  the  driver  to  get  under  way.  The  man  demurred  in 
fear  of  the  police,  and  then  in  greater  fright  leaped  off 
the  box  as  the  wild  Americano  leaped  up,  seized  the 
whip  and  laid  it  over  the  horse.  Tom  came  alongside 
at  the  same  moment,  and  had  just  time  to  knock  down 
an  officer  of  the  law  and  tumble  aboard,  while  Carm 
caught  the  stern  of  the  craft  as  it  flew  by,  and  swung 
himself  in  over  the  counter.  Away  they  went  at  full 
gallop,  with  half  a  dozen  of  the  constabulary  shouting 
and  paddling  bravely  after  them  in  the  dust  for  a  few 
yards.  Tompion  and  the  Englishman  were  left,  gaping, 
behind.  Having  nothing  else  to  do  they  climbed  into 
the  other  vehicle  and  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  lead 
ers,  surrounded  by  the  police.  The  absurdity  of  their 
situation  paved  the  way  for  the  resumption  of  amicable 
relations,  and  they  arrived  at  Gibraltar  very  good 
friends,  smoking  together  the  pipe  of  peace  in  the  form 
of  the  Commandante's  cigars.  The  Spanish  official, 


382  Smith   Brunt. 

much  relieved  to  be  rid  of  both  principals,  released 
the  two  seconds  with  his  blessing,  and  reported  at 
headquarters  his  clever  frustration  of  the  duello. 

The  only  explanation  vouchsafed  by  Smith  to  his 
companions  in  the  flying  cabriolet  was  that  de  Voe 
was  bent  on  mischief  and  must  be  prevented  from  leav 
ing  Gibraltar,  if  possible.  In  return,  Tom  gave  a  short 
and  badly  jolted  account  of  how  they  had  arrived  that 
morning  and  learned  of  the  duel.  As  the  carriage 
bounded  along,  yawing  from  side  to  side,  Carm  sug 
gested  that  they  had  better  not  talk  to  the  man  at  the 
wheel.  Indeed,  the  rough  road  and  Smith's  deep-sea 
driving  prevented  any  satisfactory  discourse.  There 
was  no  time  to  lose,  for  they  had  to  drive  around  the 
Bay  while  de  Voe  was  rowing  straight  across. 

On  getting  sight  of  the  port,  Smith  uttered  an  ex 
clamation  of  anger.  They  saw  the  Dart's  mainsail  up, 
and  a  boat  close  aboard  her.  On  they  went  at  full 
speed  into  the  town,  and  down  to  the  wharf.  There 
they  pulled  up  and  jumped  out, — almost  on  top  of 
Commodore  Bainbridge  himself,  with  Teddy  beside 
him.  Bainbridge  had  come  out  during  the  summer 
with  an  additional  squadron,  and  taken  command  of 
the  whole  fleet. 

"  Captain  Brunt,"  said  the  veteran  flag-officer  severely, 
but  looking  nevertheless  almost  as  pleased  as  the  mid 
shipman  at  seeing  Smith, — "  I  understand  that  you 
have  been  fighting  a  duel.  You  will  go  on  board  your 
vessel  at  once,  sir.  and  consider  yourself  under  arrest 
until  further  orders." 

"Very  good,  sir,"  said  Smith,  saluting.  "Before 
going,  may  I  say  one  word  to  you  apart,  sir?" 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Bainbridge.  "  Are  you  hurt 
much  ?  "  he  added,  noticing  the  bandaged  arm, 


At  Gibraltar.  383 

"  Only  a  scratch,"  replied  Smith,  and  then  walked 
aside  with  his  superior,  and,  sinking  his  voice,  continued: 
"  Commodore  Bainbridge,  I  have  a  very  great  favor  to 
ask  of  you.  You  spoke  the  other  day  of  sending  the 
Flame  home  with  despatches.  I  beg  most  earnestly 
that  you  will,  for  the  present  at  least,  overlook  this 
offense,  which,  I  assure  you,  was  unavoidable,  and  send 
me  on  this  duty  at  once,  if  possible.  My  reason  for 
making  such  a  request  is,  of  course,  most  urgent.  To 
explain  it  I  must  speak  frankly,  and  in  strict  confidence, 
for  it  is  a  delicate  matter  and  concerns  other  people. 
That  schooner  standing  out  of  the  harbour  belongs  to 
Herbert  de  Voe,  whom  you  may  remember,  or  rather  it 
belonged  to  his  late  father-in-law,  poor  old  Mr.  Temble, 
from  whom  he  stole  it.  I  have  just  fought  him  in  a 
quarrel,  begun  when  we  were  here  in  June.  Commo 
dore  Decatur  can  tell  you  about  it."  (Smith  had  de 
vised  this  happy  lie  the  night  before.)  "  De  Voe's 
domestic  relations  have  been  troubled,  as  no  doubt 
you  have  heard.  I  fear  many  others  have  heard  it 
also,  and  no  doubt  more  than  is  true.  Mrs.  de  Voe  is 
living  on  Long  Island  with  the  Henry  Lawrences,  and 
de  Voe  is  bound  there  now  to  annoy  them.  You  know 
the  temper  of  old  Henry  Lawrence,  and  may  imag 
ine  the  very  possible  consequences  of  such  a  meeting, 
if  unexpected.  Of  course,  I  do  not  ask  you  to  send  me 
home,  sir,  for  these  merely  private  reasons,  but  if  it 
is  still  your  intention  to  despatch  my  sc-hooner,  I  beg 
you  to  hasten  it." 

Bainbridge  listened  attentively  to  this  speech,  and  at 
its  close  uttered  a  sound  very  like  a  low  whistle.  He 
looked  at  the  Dart,  now  nearly  clear  of  the  harbour,  and 
then  turning  toward  his  barge,  said:  "  Come  with  me, 
and  tell  your  boat  to  follow." 


384  Smith   Brunt. 

Smith  went  aboard  the  Independence  and  followed  the 
Commodore  to  his  cabin.  There  the  latter  drew  from 
his  desk  a  packet,  and  handing  it  to  the  young  officer, 
said  : 

"  Captain  Brunt,  these  are  for  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  You  will  get  under  way  at  once,  if  you  please,  and 
take  these  despatches  to  New  York.  Make  the  voyage 
as  rapidly  as  prudence  will  permit.  You  are  not  bound 
absolutely  to  the  port  of  New  York,  but  may  touch  at 
any  point  in  that  neighborhood  and  forward  the  de 
spatches  to  Washington.  You  will  then  report  yourself 
at  the  Navy  Yard  at  New  York."  He  paused  a  moment, 
and  then  added:  "I  am  informed,  Captain  Brunt,  that 
the  master  of  a  schooner  called  the  Dart,  who  has  just 
sailed  from  this  port  under  the  English  flag,  is  an  Ameri 
can  citizen,  and  has  stolen  his  vessel  from  an  American 
owner.  Should  you  happen  to  fall  in  with  that  schooner, 
— um-m,  the  question  of  the  right  of  search  was  not 
settled  by  the  treaty,  I  believe.  But  mind,  sir,  I  trust 
in  you  to  do  nothing  indiscreet.  You  must  raise  no 
international  question,  merely  for  the  interception  of 
an  alleged  criminal  or  the  recovery  of  private  property 
without  orders." 

Smith  thanked  his  Commodore  warmly,  and  left  the 
cabin  with  all  the  haste  compatible  with  respect.  Hur 
rying  over  the  side,  he  sprang  into  the  boat,  in  which 
Teddy  and  Carman  Hawkins  were  awaiting  him,  and 
was  rowed  to  the  Flame  with  a  stroke  much  faster 
than  the  usual  man-o'-war  time.  Tom  Wycherleigh  had 
been  hanging  about  in  his  gig  to  see  what  was  going  to 
happen,  not  knowing  but  that  Smith  was  being  court- 
martialed  aboard  the  flagship  then  and  there.  He  now 
accompanied  the  Flames  toward  the  schooner. 

"  I  am  going  home  right  away,"  said  Smith,  in  answer 


At  Gibraltar.  385 

to  Tom's  anxious  questions.  "  Not  under  arrest,  no. 
With  despatches.  Better  come  along  with  me,  Tom." 

"  Why,  hang  it  all,"  cried  Tom,  "  I  have  something 
uncommon  important  to  talk  about  to  both  you  and 
Teddy.  You  are  not  going  to  start  immediately,  are 
you  ? " 

"Just  as  soon  as  I  can  get  the  rags  up  and  the  hook 
out,"  answered  Smith;  "  and,  if  you  keep  an  eye  on  us, 
you'll  see  that  won't  be  long." 

"  I've  got  to  see  you,"  pleaded  Tom.  "  What  are  you 
in  such  a  deuce  of  a  hurry  for?  Half  an  hour  won't 
make  any  difference  between  here  and  the  States,  you 
know." 

"  Three  minutes  may  make  a  difference  in  crossing 
the  bow  of  that  schooner.  I'd  love  to  see  more  of  you. 
old  lad,  but  I  can't  stop  now.  You  must  come  out  and 
see  us,  and  bring  Miss  Gray,  too,  or  Lady  Wycherleigh 
as  I  hope  she  will  be  soon,  and — er — Miss  Wycher 
leigh." 

"By  Jove!  I  will,  you  know,"  answered  Tom.  "I 
really  mean  it.  Carm  will  tell  you  why,  if  you  haven't 
time  to  listen  to  me." 

"  That's  first-rate.  Good-bye.  Excuse  me  for  being 
so  short  with  you." 

This  conversation  had  been  carried  on  while  the  two 
boats,  side  by  side,  were  dashing  toward  the  Flame. 
The  moment  he  came  within  hailing  distance  Smith, 
regardless  of  formalities,  rose  to  his  feet  and  sang  out 
to  the  officer  of  the  deck  : 

"Mr.  Brown,  is  any  one  ashore  ?  If  not,  get  under 
way  at  once, — just  as  quick  as  you  can.  We  have  to 
catch  that  schooner.  '  Never  mind  the  side." 

"  Very  good,  sir.  Every  one  is  aboard,"  was  the 
reply;  but  not  another  order  was  given  until  the  com- 


386  Smith   Brunt. 

mand  to  break  out  the  anchor.  It  was  an  extraordi 
nary  occasion,  and  Smith  knew  his  men  ;  so  did  Brown 
by  this  time.  That  Long  Island  crew  of  which  it  had 
been  prophesied  that  every  man  would  want  to  be 
captain,  and  which  had  indeed  at  first  given  its  unac 
quainted  officers  many  a  pang  by  sluggish  manners  and 
breaches  of  form,  now,  without  another  word  of  direc 
tion,  swooped  on  its  work,  quick,  silent,  and  sure  as  a 
flight  of  hawks.  The  boats  sprang  to  the  davits,  the 
swinging  booms  vanished,  sail  covers  and  gaskets  flew 
off  almost  together,  and  the  two  after  sails  leaped  out 
of  bed  and  up  the  masts  in  one  unbroken  motion,  as 
the  sailormen  lay  aloft,  and  rode  down  the  halliards 
like  cats  over  a  haystack.  Just  the  right  number 
picked  up  the  cable,  walked  it  short,  and  paused,  ex 
pectant,  for  a  moment  ;  then  at  the  word,  with  one 
heave  perfectly  together,  broke  the  anchor  aweigh,  and 
instantly  all  the  headsails  rushed  up  simultaneously 
into  their  work.  The  great  mainsail  pressed  in  to 
balance  them,  without  losing  a  foot  to  leeward  ;  the 
gaff  topsail,  already  loosed,  spread  out  three  ways  at 
once,  tight  as  a  drum  ;  and  within  four  minutes  from 
Smith's  hail  the  Flame,  under  every  sail  she  could  carry 
to  windward,  was  driving  her  jib  boom  for  the  western 
and  weathermost  point  of  the  bay  like  a  frightened 
swordfish. 

The  little  craft  had  before  this  made  her  reputation 
in  the  fleet  for  sharp  handling,  and  now  all  hands  on 
the  flagship,  scenting  something  in  the  wind,  were 
crowding  the  rail  and  the  rigging  to  see  what  "the 
clam  diggers,"  were  doing.  As  the  Flame  burst  into 
life  and  tore  past  in  full  blaze,  every  man  Jack  and 
officer  too,  aboard  the  Commodore  cheered  until  they 
roused  the  whole  fleet  to  look  on,  while  Tom  Wycher- 


At  Gibraltar.  387 

leigh  stood  up  in  the  stern  of  his  gig,  swung  his  hat 
and  shouted  himself  hoarse.  And  so  began  the  race 
into  the  West  that  was  likely  to  last  for  three  thousand 
miles,  most  of  it  up  hill. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

HOW  THEY  RACED  ACROSS  THE  ATLANTIC. 

\I  7HILE  the  chase  was  in  sight  Smith  would  not  go 
^"  below,  so  had  his  wound  dressed  on  deck,  and 
postponed  for  the  present  the  hearing  of  Carm's  history. 
As  the  two  schooners  raced  along  through  the  Straits, 
with  the  wind  a  little  fairer  than  abeam,  neither  seemed 
to  gain  an  inch.  The  Flame  never  liked  to  have  her 
sheet  lifted,  and  furthermore  was  handicapped  by  her 
battery  and  large  crew.  After  passing  Tarifa  it  be 
came  evident  that  de  Voe  meant  to  carry  out  his  threat, 
for  instead  of  keeping  away  for  Cape  St.  Vincent,  he 
held  right  on,  out  to  sea. 

Shortly  after  reaching  the  open  ocean  they  began  to 
get  the  wind  more  ahead,  to  the  delight  of  the  pur 
suers.  First  the  staysail  had  to  come  in,  then  the 
square  sails,  and  before  long  both  boats  were  jammed 
on  the  wind.  This  was  the  Flame  s  best  point,  and 
now  indeed  she  began  to  raise  that  elusive  white  tower 
ahead.  The  poor  little  stolen  Dart  during  her  forced 
sojourn  in  English  waters  had  suffered  a  change,  not 
only  of  bunting,  but  also  of  canvas.  The  lesson  of  the 
America  had  not  yet  been  taught  in  the  Solent,  and 
the  flat  sails  of  the  Yankee  schooner,  becoming  worn 
out,  had  been  replaced  with  a  set  of  hempen  bags, 
designed  to  trap  the  wary  wind  on  the  principle  of  a 
purse  net.  Off  the  wind  these  devices  did  very  well, 
but  now,  when  close  hauled,  they  held  the  Dart  down 
388 


Across  the  Atlantic.  389 

to  a  conservative  British  pace  ;  while  the  pursuer  flew 
after  her,  with  wings  as  beautifully  flat  as  a  wild  dove's. 

Before  long  Smith  could  see  the  hull  of  the  chase; 
but  he  could  also  see  something  else,  something  at 
which  he  had  been  looking  anxiously  for  the  past  half 
hour.  That  was  a  great  dark  mass  in  the  Northwest. 
Higher  and  higher  it  climbed  up  the  sky,  and  the  south 
westerly  breeze  began  to  die  before  it.  There  was  no 
chance  of  its  swerving  now,  and  no  wisdom  in  waiting 
longer. 

"  Take  in  the  gaff  topsail  and  flying  jib." 

In  a  few  moments  the  canvas  was  reduced  to  the  three 
lower  sails. 

"  Make  ready  to  turn  in  both  reefs  in  the  mainsail, 
if  you  please,  Mr.  Brown,  one  over  the  other.  Reef 
the  jib,  too,  and  have  them  stand  by  to  take  it  in." 

The  schooner  had  been  reaching  on  the  port  tack, 
and  was  now  for  a  moment  almost  becalmed;  but  with 
the  first  light  breath  of  the  Northwester  she  came  on 
the  other  tack,  and  luffed  around  to  meet  the  white  line 
now  close  upon  her. 

"  Haul  down  the  jib  and  see  it  stowed  carefully. 
Now  get  those  reefs  in  the  mainsail.  Good!  " 

Hardly  were  these  last  orders  executed  when  the 
squall  was  on  the  schooner  like  a  charge  of  devils, 
hissing,  spitting,  howling,  tearing  at  the  stowed  can 
vas,  rattling  the  sheet  blocks,  and  hurling  and  glan 
cing  against  the  two  fluttering  sails  in  a  vain  effort  to 
get  a  square  blow  at  them.  The  Flame  only  tossed  her 
pretty  head,  shook  her  wings,  and  drifted  easily. 

Smith  braced  himself  on  the  quarter-deck  with  his 
feet  apart,  and  mentally  gauged  the  strength  of  the 
wind.  In  a  few  minutes  he  turned  to  his  executive, 
and  said  :  "Brown,  I  believe  we  can  sail  through  it." 


390  Smith   Brunt. 

"  I  guess  she  can  do  it.  Shall  we  put  the  try-sail  on 
her?"  answered  the  lieutenant. 

"  No,  try  her  with  that  reefed  mainsail  and  jib." 

"  Shall  I  keep  the  peak  up,  too  ?  "  questioned  Brown, 
raising  his  eyebrows,  with  a  grin. 

"  Yes,  give  her  the  whole  of  it.  Get  those  larboard 
guns  over  to  windward.  Carefully  there!  We  don't 
want  any  mad  dogs  loose  around  the  deck  just  now." 

The  gun  crews  were  all  ready  for  the  order  to  shift, 
and  knew  what  it  meant.  In  a  very  few  moments  the 
whole  lee  battery  was  across  the  deck,  thrust  out  with 
the  starboard  guns  as  far  as  possible  through  the 
weather  ports,  and  lashed  fast.  Each  of  the  Flame  s 
gun's  was  named  for  a  township,  and  manned  by  men 
from  that  section.  The  question  which  piece  was  first 
brought  over  and  secured  was  very  close,  and  gave 
rise  afterwards  to  some  acrid  discussion,  and  a  gener 
ous  offer  on  the  part  of  a  gentleman  from  the  East 
End  (who  did  not  care  to  have  his  name  mentioned  to 
the  boatswain)  to  punch  the  head  off  any  Patchoguer, 
which  proposition  was  cordially  accepted  by  all  the 
representatives  of  that  sporting  village.  Our  people 
are  always  waked  up  a  good  deal  by  a  race. 

The  battery  shifted,  the  next  order  was  to  hoist 
away  the  jib  ;  and  old  Raynor  Terry  was  put  at  the  jib 
sheets.  The  handy  split  head-rig  was  either  not  known 
or  not  appreciated  on  our  fore-and-afters  at  that  time  ; 
that  is  something  we  have  learned  from  Cousin  John 
in  return  for  our  lessons  to  him.  Under  the  shortened 
jib  the  Flame  payed  off,  filled  her  other  sails,  lay  over 
on  her  shoulder  like  a  strong  swimmer,  quivered  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  away  she  went  slap  through  the  squall 
with  all  her  guns  and  all  her  men  to  windward.  The 
men  crowded  under  the  weather  rail  so  as  to  get  every 


Across  the  Atlantic.  391 

possible  inch  of  leverage  for  their  weight  without 
catching  any  wind,  and  one  and  all  were  happy,  though 
getting  a  shower  bath  from  every  sea. 

"  Put  that  tobaccer  in  the  other  side  of  your  face, 
Hen  John  Howell.  Don't  you  know  no  better  than  to 
chew  to  leeward  in  times  like  this?  You've  got  your 
cap  all  slewed  a-lee,  too.  What  are  you  tryin'  to  do, 
anyhow,  upset  her?  " 

"  Shut  your  head,  Carm  Hawkins,"  replied  the  in 
dividual  addressed.  "  We've  got  wind  enough  without 
your  help.  We'll  have  to  strip  her  and  scud,  if  you're 
a-goin'  to  join  in." 

"  Well,  these  here  cockleshells  make  me  nervous, 
after  the  seventy-fours  I'm  used  to." 

"Go  to  thunder!  You  never  was  on  a  three-decker 
in  your  life.  Wonder  what  the  chase  is  doin'  ?" 

"  He  can't  pry  up  the  way  we  can,"  replied  Carm. 
"  But  if  I  know  anything  about  that  snoozer, — and  I 
guess  I  do, — he  ain't  tied  up  behind  the  barn.  You 
can  bet  on  that." 

The  Dart  was  completely  hidden  by  the  thickness  of 
the  squall.  In  a  few  minutes  the  view  became  still 
more  restricted  by  torrents  of  rain.  The  downpour 
after  awhile  began  to  kill  the  wind,  and  within  half  an 
hour  had  beaten  the  strength  almost  entirely  out  of  it. 

"  With  the  rain  before  the  wind, 
Topsail  sheets  and  halliards  mind  ; 
With  the  wind  before  the  rain, 
Trim  your  sails  and  set  again," 

recited  Brown,  cheerfully,  as  the  schooner  began  to 
straighten  up. 

"Quite  true,"  assented  Smith,  "  and  it  is  time  to  do 
so  now.  Get  the  guns  back,  and  shake  out  the  reefs." 

The  rain  grew  lighter  and  widened   the  circle  of  its 


392  Smith  Brunt. 

curtain,   at  first  slowly,  then   more  rapidly,  and  then 
suddenly  vanished  altogether. 
"There  she  is  !  " 

There  lay  the  Dart,  closehauled  on  the  same  tack, 
about  a  mile  on  the  lee  beam.  They  had  fairly  run 
over  her  ;  but  would  rather  have  beaten  her  less  and 
had  her  to  windward.  Herbert,  however,  did  not  alter 
his  course,  but  held  close  on  the  wind,  while  Smith 
cracked  on  his  square  sails  and  flying  jib,  eased  his 
sheets  a  little,  and,  with  his  crew  at  quarters,  edged 
down  on  the  Dart,  keeping  even  with  her.  The  gaff 
topsail  was  loosed  and  run  up  to  dry,  but  being  wet, 
was  not  sheeted  out;  for  it  was  not  needed  yet,  but 
might  be  later,  and  in  its  best  shape. 

So  they  sailed  on  gradually  converging  courses  until 
within  hailing  distance,  when  Smith  put  the  trumpet  to 
his  lips  and  ordered  the  chase  to  heave  to.  Back  came 
the  answer,  perfectly  distinct,  over  the  water: 

"  Go  to  h !  " 

At  the  same  moment  there  appeared  at  the  Darfs 
peak  the  well-known  piece  of  red.  Smith  had  too 
much  regard  for  his  duty  to  fire  on  that  flag,  unless  de 
Voe  should  be  kind  enough  to  fire  first.  This  may 
seem  like  a  rather  absurd  ending  to  the  hard  chase  ; 
but  the  Flame's  skipper  had  expected  it,  and  had  his 
plan  all  laid.  As  Carm  Hawkins  used  to  say,  "  There 
are  more  ways  of  killing  a  dog  besides  choking  him 
with  butter."  Smith  would  not  fire  on  the  English 
flag,  but  saw  no  reason  why  he  should  not  foul  the 
Dart  and  go  aboard  of  her  to  call  on  her  master.  A 
fine  distinction  possibly,  but  a  distinction  undoubtedly. 
With  this  intention,  he  suddenly  put  his  helm  up  and 
dashed  straight  for  the  Darfs  quarter,  at  the  same 
time  sheeting  home  his  gaff-topsail.  Herbert  compre- 


Across  the  Atlantic.  393 

bended  the  move  and  kept  broad  off,  but  too  late  ;  the 
Flame  was  near  enough  to  blanket  him  ;  escape  to  lee 
ward  was  impossible.  He  tried  to  luff  out;  but  Smith 
followed  every  move,  and  gained  rapidly,  until  he  had 
his  jib  boom  almost  over  the  Dart's  stern.  Seeing  this, 
de  Voe  suddenly  luffed  sharp  up  and  flattened  his 
sheets  again.  The  Flame  followed  him  as  quickly; 
and  the  two  boats  reached  along  closehauled,  the 
horn  of  the  pursuer  tickling  the  weather  quarter  of  the 
leader. 

They  maintained  these  relative  positions  for  some 
time;  for  though  the  Flame  was  so  superior  on  this 
point  of  sailing,  she  was  bothered  by  the  back-wind 
from  the  Dart's  mainsail.  She  would  crawl  up  close, 
until  everything  forward  shivered,  and  then  drop  back 
again.  On  this  Herbert  had  been  shrewd  enough  to 
count.  Twice  a  grapple  was  thrown  aboard  the  chase, 
but  each  time  was  thrown  off  before  it  caught.  The 
only  way  to  lay  him  aboard  was  to  work  up  far  enough 
to  fasten  to  his  main  rigging,  and  this  seemed  impos 
sible. 

There  are  two  sides  of  a  boat,  however,  and  Smith, 
finding  that  he  could  not  push  up  on  one  side,  deter 
mined  to  try  the  other.  He  therefore  passed  the  word 
quietly  to  the  man  at  the  wheel.  He  himself  was 
standing  away  forward  in  the  eyes,  with  one  foot  on 
the  rail  and  twenty  men  at  his  back.  The  boarders 
wore  arms,  but  in  their  hands  carried  only  belaying 
pins.  De  Voe  was  on  his  quarter-deck,  not  thirty  feet 
away,  holding  the  wheel  himself.  The  next  time  the 
Flame  dropped  back,  her  helmsman  kept  off  a  little,  and 
with  a  good  rap  full  sent  her  well  up  on  the  Dart's  lee 
quarter.  In  an  instant  a  man  was  out  on  the  jib  boom, 
prepared  to  lash  it  to  the  Dart's  rigging  as  the  Flame 


394  Smith  Brunt. 

luffed  into  her,  before  losing  way  in  the  lee  of  the 
mainsail. 

"  Knock  the  first  man  on  the  head  there  who  touches 
a  shroud,"  sang  out  de  Voe,  and  one  of  his  men  seized 
a  handspike  and  stood  by  to  carry  out  the  order. 

"  Try  it,  and  I'll  shoot  you  dead,"  added  Smith,  rais 
ing  his  pistol.  "  Mind  you,  Herbert  de  Voe,"  he  con 
tinued,  "  your  vessel  is  safe  with  that  borrowed  flag  so 
long  as  you  skulk  under  it  quietly  ;  but  if  you  so  much 
as  snap  a  pistol  at  this  craft  or  any  one  aboard  of  her, 
by  Heaven,  I'll  blow  you  all  to  kindling  wood!  "  (Here 
Simeon  Underhill,  captain  of  the  starboard  bow-chaser 
North  Hempstead,  smiled  and  stroked  it  lovingly.)  "  If 
you  surrender  yourself,  you  shall  be  treated  like  a  gen 
tleman  ;  if  you  make  trouble,  I'll  put  you  in  irons,  and 
you  shall  get  all  the  law  can  give  you.  You  have  no 
British  colors  fast  to  yourself  yet,  by  George,  renegade 
though  you  be,  and  you  can  howl  for  your  chosen  coun 
try  all  you  like  and  be  hanged!  " 

To  this  proposition  Herbert  made  the  same  polite 
rejoinder  that  he  had  given  to  the  first  hail,  and  at  the 
same  time  put  his  helm  hard  a-lee.  The  Darfs  stern 
swung  in  response.  The  Flame  instantly  followed  suit, 
and  with  her  starboard  whisker  caught  the  other's  main 
sail  thrashing  in  the  wind,  and  tore  a  gash  in  it  near 
the  clew.  But  the  heavy  boom  rising  on  a  sea,  forced 
up  the  whisker,  swung  round  and  swept  the  Flame  s 
jib  boom.  The  seaman  on  that  spar  saved  himself  by 
catching  the  fore-topgallant  stay  ;  but  a  little  figure 
with  him,  heretofore  unnoticed,  dropped  into  the  sea. 
Smith  saw  a  white  face  and  a  bunch  of  yellow  curls 
wash  by  the  side,  and  the  next  instant  struck  the  water 
himself  within  five  feet  of  them.  Had  he  not,  the  Wy- 


Across  the  Atlantic.  395 

cherleigh  title  would  then  and  there  have  been  quieted, 
so  far  as  it  might  concern  Teddy  Lawrence. 

Plunging  forward  like  a  porpoise,  Smith  with  his  only 
good  hand  seized  Teddy's  hair  just  in  time.  By  tre 
mendous  exertions  with  his  legs,  he  managed  to  keep 
the  boy's  head  above  water,  but  could  not  long  have 
done  so  had  he  not  felt  something  pushed  against  his 
shoulder  and  heard  a  voice  at  his  ear  say: 

"  Get  your  lame  wing  over  that.  You  hadn't  ought 
to  ha'  done  this  with  only  one  arm." 

Looking  round,  he  saw  Carman  Hawkins  with  a  life 
buoy.  Over  this  he  hooked  his  wounded  arm,  and  got 
the  other  around  Teddy's  breast.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
youngster  recovered  enough  to  hold  on  and  tread  water 
for  himself,  to  the  great  relief  of  Smith,  who  up  to  that 
time  had  not  known  whether  he  was  saving  Ted  or  his 
lifeless  body. 

"  That's  you,  Carm,  but  I  can't  shake  your  hand  now," 
was  all  Smith  said.  "  Get  hold  of  this  thing.  It  will 
float  us  all." 

"  No  no,"  replied  Carman  as  he  paddled  about  easily, 
"  I  don't  need  it.  All  I  want  is  a  mermaid,  and  I'll  go 
to  housekeepin'." 

Of  course,  the  Flame  had  rounded  to  immediately,  and 
in  about  fifteen  seconds  a  boat  was  shooting  away  from 
her  side.  But  by  the  time  her  Captain  stood,  dripping, 
on  deck,  he  could  see  only  the  sails  of  the  Dart  to  lee 
ward.  He  shook  his  head  and  showed  his  teeth. 

"  She  is  off  the  course  considerably,  Brown,  but  hold 
right  after  her  for  the  present  and  carry  on  everything 
you  can.  I  am  going  below  to  change  my  duds/'  he 
said  ;  then  turning  to  Carman,  continued,  "  Carm,  go  get 
on  some  dry  clothes,  and  then  come  to  the  cabin." 

"All  right,  Cap — I  mean  aye,  aye,  sir,"  responded  the 


396  Smith  Brunt. 

ex-dictator  of  Bijunga.  "  Beg  pardon,  sir,  I've  been  so 
long  out  of  the  service  that  I'm  forgettin'  all  my  man- 
o'-war  manners.  Just  when  I'd  ought  to  set  an  example, 
too,  for  all  these  here  pea-green  long-shore  lubbers 
you've  picked  up." 

This  last  was  for  the  benefit,  in  passing,  of  Raynor 
Terry  and  Henry  John  Howell,  who  were  busy  securing 
the  cutter,  and  each  of  whom  had  spanked  Mr.  Haw 
kins  in  early  youth  for  stealing  their  clams  for  bait. 

"  Carm  ain't  changed  much  in  the  next  world  or  wher 
ever  he's  been  a-keepin'  himself,"  grunted  Raynor  to 
his  mate.  "  When  he  gets  a  chance  to  tell  us  about  it, 
I  expect  he'll  improve  considerable  on  Revelations." 

"Yes  yes,  I'd  like  to  hear  his  yarn  to  the  skipper," 
said  Howell,  "  just  to  see  how  much  it'll  grow  by  the 
time  we  get  it." 

Before  Smith  had  finished  dressing,  Carm  came  to 
the  cabin.  Smith  closed  the  door  and  seized  his  hand. 
"  Now,  Carm,"  he  cried,  "  drop  your  'man-o'-war  man 
ners,'  and  sit  down  there  and  tell  me  all  about  yourself.' 

"Well,  well  now,  but  ain't  this  great  ?  "  quoth  Carm, 
looking  round  the  cabin.  "  To  have  you  in  command 
of  a  beauty  like  this,  and  with  a  whull  crew  of  us  fellers 
from  the  old  Island,  too  !  I  must  stand  up  a  minute  or 
two,  just  to  make  sure  that  you're  really  the  old  man." 

Having  satisfied  himself  on  that  point,  Carm  availed 
himself  of  the  order  to  sit,  and  began  his  yarn.  He  told 
how  he  had  recognized  the  red-headed  seaman  at  South 
ampton  and  followed  him  and  Hugh  Wycherleigh  out 
of  the  tavern,  but  then  came  matter  omitted  in  the  edi 
tion  imparted  to  Tom  Wycherleigh,  which  matter  is  here 
set  forth  in  the  words  and  figures  following,  to  wit: 

"  When  I  see  my  friend  with  the  ruby  tresses  sailing 
in  company  with  that  nice-appearin',  pleasant-spoken 


Across  the  Atlantic.  397 

brother  of  Mr.  Wycherleigh's,  I  was  more  anxious  than 
ever  to  keep  him  in  sight.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  if 
I  kept  an  eye  on  two  such  beauties  to  once  in  the  night 
time,  I'd  likely  git  a  look  at  somethin'  more'n  a  Sunday- 
school  festival.  And  I  guess  I  did,  too.  So  I  kept 
right  along  close  astern,  and  without  much  trouble 
either,  because  Mr.  Rainy-face's  head  showed  in  the 
dark  like  a  nice  sunset.  After  a  while  they  stopped 
alongside  of  a  little  house  which,  I  take  it,  was  where 
Mrs.  de  Voe  was  stayin'.  I  got  close  up,  so  as  I  could 
hear  'emtalkin',  though  they  wasn't  shoutin'  any,  and  I 
had  to  push  a  little  on  my  best  ear  to  catch  what  they 
said.  The  Englishman  says: 

" '  There's  your  first  fiver,'  says  he,  'and  here's  the 
note  you're  to  take  in.  Give  me  the  other  note,  so  as 
you  won't  make  no  mistake,'  he  says. 

"  My  friend  kind  o'  hung  in  the  wind  a  minute,  and 
he  says,  '  Supposin'  I'm  caught  at  this  before  we  sail?' 
says  he.  *  How  about  my  berth  ?  I'll  lose  it  sure  as 
eggs  is  eggs,  and  be  lucky  if  I  ain't  taken  out  to  sea 
and  put  overboard.'  But  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  he  braced 
him  up  and  told  him  how  he'd  guarantee  to  take  care 
of  him,  and  there  wasn't  no  danger,  anyhow  ;  and  finally 
Bluebeard  goes  off  into  the  house.  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  other  feller's  face  by  the  lamp,  and  I'd  ha'  given 
ten  shillin's  to  step  on  it.  Guy,  his  looks  would  have 
soured  a  green  lemon.  Pretty  soon  out  comes  Cap'n 
Rubylocks,  and  says : 

"  *  I  give  it  to  her,'  says  he. 

"  '  All  right,'  says  Mr.  Wycherleigh.  'Now  take  this 
one.  Tell  her  the  first  one  was  meant  for  your  master 
and  you  left  it  with  her  by  mistake,  instead  of  this  one. 
Give  her  this,  and  be  sure  and  wait  for  what  she'll  give 
you.' 


398  Smith  Brunt. 

"  In  goes  Mr.  Red-head,  and  out  he  comes  again  with 
two  letters,  and  give  'em  both  to  Mr.  Wycherleigh. 

"  '  Now,'  says  Mr,  Wycherleigh,  *  not  a  word  about 
this  to  anybody.  You've  got  sense  enough  for  that," 
he  says,  '  and  here's  your  other  five.'  With  that  they 
split  tacks,  and  I  took  after  Rosy-top." 

"  Stop  a  moment,"  cried  Smith,  "go  over  that 
again." 

"  What  don't  you  get  ?  "  asked  Carm. 

"  You  say  that  when  they  left  the  inn,  Herbert  de 
Voe  gave  this  man  a  note  and  told  him  to  take  it  to 
Mrs.  de  Voe,  and  to  get  one  from  her  for  Mr.  Wycher 
leigh  ? " 

"  That's  what  he  said." 

"When  they  came  to  the  house,  Wycherleigh 
changed  the  notes  and  gave  this  man  money  to  do 
something  risky,  presumably  some  evil  to  his  skipper?  " 

"  Looked  that  way  to  me." 

"  Then  this  red-headed  rascal,"  continued  Smith, 
leaning  forward  earnestly,  "  took  Wycherleigh's  note 
up  first,  and  then  came  back  and  got  the  other,  the 
real  one  that  he  had  been  sent  with,  and  went  back 
into  the  house  again  with  that,  pretending  the  first  one 
was  a  mistake  ?" 

"That's  just  what  he  done." 

"By  Heaven,  that  is  a  piece  of  foul  play  on  the  part 
of  that  liar,  Hugh  Wycherleigh!  "  cried  Smith,  bringing 
his  fist  down  on  the  cabin  table. 

"  Does  look  kind  o'  dirty  coloured,  don't  it  ?  "  agreed 
Carm.  "  That's  just  what  I  thought." 

"And  Herbert  de  Voe  has  been  wronged,  just  as 
surely  as  I  sit  here.  That  poor  girl  has  suffered  some 
infernal  deception,  and  been  made  to  hate  her  husband. 
She  has  wronged  him,  and  /have  wronged  him," 


Across  the  Atlantic.  399 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  observed  Carm,  "  you  can't  spoil 
a  bad  egg  by  callin'  it  names." 

Smith  leaped  up  and  dashed  on  deck.  About  four 
miles  ahead  he  could  see  the  chase,  still  hull  down.  He 
glanced  over  the  sails,  saw  everything  drawing  to  his 
satisfaction,  and  then  returned  below  and  heard  the 
rest  of  Carm's  tale. 

"  I  think  you  had  better  say  nothing  about  this  to 
Teddy  or  Mr.  Lawrence,"  said  Smith,  when  Carm  had 
finished  his  yarn;  "at  least,  nothing  about  the  part 
that  concerns  Teddy's  parentage.  Wait  until  Mr.  Wy- 
cherleigh  comes  over,  and  opens  the  subject  himself. 
Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof,  and  we  have 
evil  enough  to  handle  just  now,  Carm,  Heaven  knows. 
Come  on  deck  and  let's  see  where  the  Dart  is." 

To  leeward,  de  Voe's  bags  served  the  purpose  of  sails 
well  enough,  and  having  but  little  weight  to  drag, 
pulled  him  along  fully  as  fast,  perhaps  faster  than  the 
Flame.  Could  Herbert  only  have  known  the  changed 
desire  of  his  pursuer,  he  would  not  have  thus  run  off 
his  course.  Now  more  than  ever  did  Smith  wish  to 
anticipate  the  meeting  he  dreaded,  but  instead  of  seek 
ing  to  seize  his  recent  foej  he  was  now  straining  to  save 
that  enemy's  happiness.  The  chances  of  a  race  across 
the  Atlantic  were  too  uncertain  to  justify  giving  up 
the  chase  and  making  straight  for  the  goal.  So',  pray 
ing  for  a  change  of  wind,  he  held  on  patiently  after  the 
fleeing  Dart,  with  no  apparent  gain,  until  nightfall. 
After  dark  he  felt  sure  that  Herbert  would  haul  up  on 
his  course  again,  and  also  knew  the  futility  of  chasing 
an  invisible  craft.  So  he  hauled  his  sheets,  got  his 
position  by  the  rather  varied  day's-work,  a  star,  and  a 
guess  divided  by  two,  and  headed  about  right  for 
home.  Next  morning  there  was  not  a  sign  of  the  Dart. 


400  Smith  Brunt. 

Now  it  became  a  question  of  accurate  navigation  and 
the  principal  ingredient  of  an  ocean  race,  luck.  To 
improve  or  counteract  the  latter,  however,  not  an  iota 
of  seamanship  was  neglected.  The  little  ship  was 
steered  and  her  sails  were  conned  as  carefully  as 
though  sailing  for  the  mark  of  a  regatta  course. 
Each  light  sail  was  set  whenever  it  could  draw,  and 
carried  as  long  as  it  did  its  work,  and  not  a  bit  longer; 
reefs  were  turned  in  like  lightning  at  the  last  moment, 
and  shaken  out  again  the  minute  they  became  unnec 
essary.  It  would  have  been  hard  on  the  crew,  no 
doubt,  except  that  it  was  a  Long  Island  crew  and  this 
was  a  race.  Smith  was  more  than  ever  glad  of  his 
judgment  in  recruiting,  and  felt  repaid  for  his  patience 
with  the  many  little  shortcomings  that  had  happened 
during  the  cruise,  and  that  would  undoubtedly  have 
disgusted  any  officer  who  did  not  understand  that  lot 
of  men.  None  but  three  or  four  picked  men  were 
allowed  to  touch  the  wheel,  Carman  Hawkins  being 
one.  When  not  conning,  Smith  spent  every  moment 
figuring  over  traverse  tables  and  charts,  and  taking 
shots  at  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  so  as  not  to  waste  a 
mile.  For  a  loss  of  five  minutes  in  that  three  thousand 
mile  voyage  might  be  as  fatal  as  that  of  a  week. 

So  they  kept  at  it;  now  coasting  down  hill  over  the 
long  seas  with  a  free  sheet  and  the  fore-topsail  and 
topgallant  sail  pulling  like  a  team  of  trotters  ;  now 
pounding  doggedly  at  the  opposing  billows,  as  close- 
hauled  as  is  possible  at  sea  ;  at  one  time  hove  to  for 
thirty-one  hours  under  a  storm  trysail  ;  twice  be 
calmed  all  day,  with  the  kites  undulating  aloft  like 
tablecloths  hung  out  to  dry. 

At  last  one  day  towards  evening,  with  a  light  south 
westerly  wind,  Smith  and  his  officers  were  standing  on 


Across  the  Atlantic.  401 

the  quarter-deck,  looking  always  to  the  Northwest  as 
they  talked.  A  bet  was  soon  to  be  decided.  The 
quartermaster  had  just  finished  heaving  the  log  for  the 
tenth  time  that  day,  and  for  the  fiftieth  time  Smith  was 
glancing  at  his  watch,  when  from  the  masthead  came 
the  shout  of  "Land  ho!  Land!  On  the  weather 
bow." 

"  Five  thirty-two,"  remarked  Smith,  laconically. 
"  I've  got  you,  Brown."  Then  hailing  the  top,  he 
called,  "  How  far  on  the  bow  ?" 

"  About  three  points,  sir,"  came  the  response. 
Smith  went  aloft  himself  with  a  spyglass  and  a  com 
pass,  and  soon  returned  to  the  deck,  with  a  broad  smile. 

"  Navesink,  sure  enough,"  he  chuckled.  "  Due  West." 
Then  he  popped  below  with  the  master  to  look  at  a 
chart. 

"Good  shot!  "  cried  Teddy. 

"Yes,  that  will  do  very  well  for  a  three  thousand 
mile  range,"  observed  another. 

In  a  few  moments  the  skipper  emerged  again,  and 
directed  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  swing  broad  off  North- 
east-by-North,  ^  North. 

Soon  again  came  the  announcement  from  aloft: 
"  Land  right  ahead." 

"There  we  are;  that's  home!"  was  repeated  fore 
and  aft.  Before  the  low-lying  sand  of  the  Island  could 
be  seen  from  the  deck,  however,  the  twilight  had 
closed  in. 

"  Two  hours  more  of  daylight  and  we'd  have  been 
able  to  get  through  the  inlet,"  cried  Teddy.  "It 
wouldn't  do  to  try  it  in  the  dark,  would  it?  " 

"  Hardly,"  laughed  Smith.  "  She's  not  my  property, 
you  know.  That  just  shows  how  every  hour  may 
count,  though  I  can't  complain  that  we  have  lost 


402  Smith  Brunt. 

many.  I  shall  run  in  with  the  first  cutter,  and  find  out 
who  has  won.  That  is,  if  this  wind  holds  and  the 
tide  serves." 

When  near  enough  to  the  beach  to  distinguish  the 
sand  hills,  they  gybed  and  ran  East  a  little  way  to  the 
mouth  of  the  inlet.  There  being  very  little  wind  left, 
Smith  decided  to  land  on  the  beach  through  the  surf, 
instead  of  sailing  in  with  the  cutter.  Fire  Island  inlet, 
at  times,  is  somewhat  like  an  eelpot,  very  easy  of 
navigation  one  way,  but  impossible  the  other. 

The  schooner  was  laid-to  as  close  to  the  beach  as 
was  safe  with  the  Southwest  wind  ;  the  whaleboat, 
which,  at  his  special  request,  had  been  allowed  to  Smith 
in  place  of  one  of  the  three  cutters  prescribed  for 
schooners,  was  called  away  ;  and  taking  the  senior 
midshipman  and  Carman  Hawkins  with  him,  the  cap 
tain,  with  the  despatches  in  his  pocket,  headed  for  the 
breakers.  An  Amagansett  surfman  held  the  quarter 
sweep,  and  without  shipping  a  drop,  landed  the  party 
high  and  dry  on  their  native  sand. 

With  Carm  and  one  of  the  other  seamen,  Smith 
hurried  over  the  hills  to  the  bay  side,  where  stood 
then  the  fishing  hut  of  Raynor  Rock,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  huge  summer  boarding  house.  Fire  Island 
was  a  different  place  in  those  days.  They  routed  old 
Rock  and  his  sons  out  of  their  bunks,  and  were  cor 
dially  welcomed;  for  the  Flame  and  her  crew  were  the 
pride  of  the  two  counties.  Smith  did  not  stop,  how 
ever,  to  give  an  account  of  the  cruise  or  answer 
questions.  He  asked  them  instead,  and  learned  that  no 
schooner  like  the  Dart  had  come  into  the  bay  ;  but  on 
that  very  afternoon  one  had  come  to  the  bar  and 
stood  off  and  on  for  a  long  time,  as  though  waiting  for 
the  tide  to  turn  or  the  wind  to  come  up  ;  for  the  tide 


Across  the  Atlantic.  403 

was  then  running  ebb  and  the  weather  had  been  very 
light  outside  the  beach  all  day. 

"She  didn't  look  like  a  coaster,  for  she  had  very 
long  topmasts.  And  she  had  funny  colored  sails, 
with  a  kind  of  a  queer  baggy  cut  to  "em,"  said  Raynor. 
"  If  it  hadn't  ha'  been  for  her  sails,  I'd  ha'  thought  she 
looked  kind  o'  familiar,  somehow.  She  looked  like  that 
privateer  that  lay  here  awhile  in  the  first  part  of  the 
war." 

"  Anything  peculiar  about  her  mainsail  ?  " 

"Yes,  there  was.  She  had  a  big  patch  down  near 
the  clew." 

"  That  settles  it.     Where  did  she  go  ? " 

"  Went  East  about  sundown." 

"  He  is  going  to  land  as  we  did,"  exclaimed  Smith, 
"but  opposite  Bayhampton,  and  drag  his  boat  across 
the  beach,  or  perhaps  find  a  skiff  at  the  Coons',  or  Ben- 
chogue  wefts.  We  must  do  the  same,  but  I'm  afraid 
we're  too  late." 

"Well,  now  look  a'  here,"  put  in  Carm.  "You  can 
get  there  a  good  deal  quicker  inside  than  you  can  out 
side  the  beach.  You  know  that.  Let's  take  Raynor's 
catboat  here,  and  then  we  won't  lose  no  time  startin' 
East,  and  besides  we'll  get  the  bay  breeze.  We  can 
beat  the  schooner  over  an  hour,  and  save  draggin'  a 
boat  over  the  beach." 

"  That's  a  good  idea,  Carm,"  cried  Smith.  "  I'll 
send  the  schooner  along  outside,  too,  to  catch  him 
there,  in  case  we  miss  him.  Rogers,"  he  continued, 
to  the  other  sailorman,  "  go  back  to  the  boat  and  tell 
Mr.  Knighthead  to  get  back  aboard  as  fast  as  he  can, 
and  to  tell  Mr.  Brown  to  run  east  along  the  beach  and 
look  out  for  the  Dart.  Tell  him  not  to  go  beyond  White 
Hill,  unless  he  sees  her.  If  he  doesn't  find  her,  or  if 


404  Smith   Brunt. 

he  succeeds  in  catching  her,  he  is  to  come  back  to  the 
inlet  and  anchor  inside.  Thank  Heaven,  the  forecas 
tle  is  full  of  pilots.  Carm,  you  come  with  me." 

Rock  cheerfully  lent  the  catboat,  and  they  lost  no 
time  in  getting  off.  Carm  was  right  about  the  bay 
breeze — an  extraordinary  phenomenon,  well  known  to 
those  who  go  often  through  the  inlet.  You  may  drift 
in  from  the  ocean  with  hardly  enough  breeze  to  give 
you  steerage  way,  and  the  moment  you  get  inside  may 
have  to  take  in  your  topsail,  and  perhaps  reef;  and  this 
with  a  southerly  wind  that  apparently  comes  straight 
off  the  sea,  but  which  in  reality  must  be  manufactured 
somewhere  in  the  beach  hills.  It  knocked  down  the 
big  catboat  now,  so  as  to  make  Carm  advise  reefing  ; 
but  Smith  insisted  on  full  sail. 

"  We'll  lug  it  by  Toby's  flat  and  over  the  Cinders  ; 
then  we  shall  have  the  wind  nearly  free,  and  can  slack 
the  peak,  if  necessary,"  he  said.  "  That  is,  if  you  feel 
sure  enough  of  your  water.  I  don't  want  to  pile  her 
up  anywhere." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  remarked  Carm.  "  It's  darker 
than  a  cellar  full  o'  niggers,  and  I've  been  away  two 
year  ;  but  I  guess  I  can  take  her  through,  somehow. 
The  road  feels  kind  o'  natural.  By  ginger  !  it  is  nice 
to  have  hold  of  a  little  thing  again  that'll  mind  just  as 
quick  as  you  think." 

Carm  was  rejoicing  in  the  return  to  his  native  waters, 
and  guided  the  flying  boat  through  the  channel  with 
that  extraordinary  instinct  possessed  only  by  those 
who  have  scraped  the  bottom  of  the  bay  for  a  living, 
year  in  and  year  out.  They  really  seem  to  smell  their 
way.  Not  a  star  was  to  be  seen,  but  over  the  surface 
of  the  water  the  atmosphere  was  clear,  so  that  lights 
showed  at  a  great  distance,  a  not  unusual  state  of 


Across  the  Atlantic.  405 

weather.  They  proceeded  cautiously  in  the  narrow 
places,  slacking  the  sheet  and  feeling  their  way  with 
the  centerboard,  which  often  serves  as  a  handlead  in 
the  Great  South  Bay. 

"There's  Rider's  Point,  now,"  said  Carm,  at  last, 
pointing  to  the  Northeast,  after  they  had  been  rushing 
along  through  the  open  bay  a  long  time, 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  answered  Smith.  "  We 
ought  to  open  our  lights  before  long,  if  there  are  any 
at  this  time  o'  night.  We've  made  a  good  run,  Carm. 
There's  a  light  by  the  point  now." 

"  Now,  look  out  for  the  Crab  Flat  stake." 

For  a  few  minutes  both  were  silent,  straining  their 
eyes  through  the  darkness  for  the  bush  stake — the 
South  Bay  fashion  of  buoy. 

"  There  she  is,"  cried  Smith.  "  Right  under  your  lee 
bow.  Keep  off  now." 

"  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,"  said  Carm,  looking  back  over 
his  wake,  and  then  at  the  dark  outline  of  the  beach, 
and  then  at  the  "  mainland  "  to  the  north.  "  Some 
how  or  other,  that  don't  look  just  right  to  me.  I  must 
have  got  rusty,  after  all,  by  bein'  away  two  year  and 
sailin'  by  nothin'  but  a  compass.  However,  that  can't 
be  nothin'  else  but  the  Crab  Flat  stake.  So  here  goes 
for  the  home  stretch.  Haul  up  on  your  board." 

So  saying,  Carm  bore  up  on  his  tiller,  and  started 
the  sheet.  The  catboat,  as  she  came  before  the  wind, 
leaped  forward  at  a  tremendous  pace.  Suddenly  she 
dragged  a  boiling  wave  over  her  counter  and,  with  a 
grating  thud,  stopped  short.  Carm  fetched  away  with 
the  tiller  in  his  hand  ;  Smith  was  thrown  violently 
against  the  centerboard  trunk  ;  but  the  mast  con 
tinued  the  voyage,  and  went  on  over  the  bow,  sail  and 
all,  into  the  water. 


406  Smith   Brunt. 

"We  pretty  near  went  aground  then  ;  did  you  notice 
it?"  observed  Carm,  as  he  picked  himself  out  of  the 
cockpit.  "  Are  you  hurt  any  ?  " 

Smith  was  hurt,  for  he  felt  a  severe  pain  in  his 
bandaged  arm,  but  was  too  disgusted  to  pay  much 
attention  to  it.  Springing  to  his  feet,  he  viewed  the 
wreck  with  bitter  feelings,  and  then  looked  about  for 
the  stake. 

"  That  must  be  the  stake,"  he  cried.  "  Look,  right 
there  to  the  West,  a  good  eight  rods.  What's  the 
meaning  of  it  ?  " 

"  It's  been  moved,"  exclaimed  Carm.  "  By  ginger  ! 
Do  you  know  what  I  believe  ?  That  darn  snoozer 
has  been  acrost  here  ahead  of  us  and  knowed  we 
might  be  after  him  pretty  soon,  so  he  moved  the  stake 
for  our  good.  Tell  you  what  it  is,"  he  continued  in 
a  tone  almost  of  admiration,  "  when  that  cuss's  head 
and  soul  was  spliced  together,  there  was  a  lot  o'  good 
brains  wasted." 

"How  is  the  tide?"  inquired  Smith,  and  threw  a 
rope's  end  overboard  to  see  how  it  tailed. 

"  Just  about  dead  high  water,  or  maybe  the  first  of 
the  ebb,"  responded  Carm,  cheerfully.  "  So  we've  got 
about  twelve  hours  to  set  here  and  laugh." 

"  If  we  can  get  her  off,  we  can  shove  home  yet,  with 
the  wind  to  help  us,"  cried  Smith  desperately.  "  Come 
on,  let's  try  it.  The  mast  is  out  ;  that's  a  good  many 
pounds  saved.  Heave  out  the  sand  bags." 

"All  right,  Cap,  anythin' you  say,"  assented  Carm. 
"  But  there  ain't  much  weight  in  her  to  get  out." 

Everything  movable  they  took  out,  and  threw  into 
the  bunt  of  the  sail  that  lay  squattering  on  the  water. 
Then  they  pulled  off  their  shoes  and  stockings,  rolled 
up  their  trousers,  and  went  to  work  with  the  setting 


Across  the  Atlantic.  407 

pole  and  bottom  boards  to  pry  the  hulk  back  to  deep 
water,  Smith  doing  his  best  with  one  hand. 

"  Tain't  no  use,"  said  Carm  at  last.  "  She's  hooked 
up  fore-and-aft,  the  whull  length  of  her.  She'll  stay 
here  till  the  water  gets  thicker.  Your  luck  keeps  just 
about  as  fine  as  ever,  Cap,  don't  it  ?  Three  thousand 
miles  through  every  kind  of  weather  from  Gibraltar 
to  Rider's  Crab  Flat,  and  then— kerchug.  Gosh  ! 
You  must  be  tickled  to  death." 

Smith  sat  down  on  the  gunwale. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  are  right,"  he  said.  "  We  can't  get 
her  off,  and  now  there  is  only  one  thing  left  to  do. 
Carm,  I  want  you  to  wade  over  to  the  beach.  Go  to 
the  lead  by  the  Coons'  hut,  and  see  if  you  can  find 
their  skiff  there,  or  any  sort  of  a  boat.  If  you  can't, 
then  look  out  for  the  schooner.  Try  and  signal  her. 
Get  a  boat  from  her,  and  drag  it  across  to  the  bay. 
Just  as  soon  as  you  get  any  sort  of  a  craft,  make  for 
Bayhampton.  If  you  don't  find  me  there,  go  straight 
to  Mr.  Lawrence  and  tell  him  about  that  fellow  Hugh 
Wycherleigh  and  the  notes  to  Mrs.  de  Voe.  Don't 
speak  of  it  to  any  one  else.  On  the  way  over  keep  your 
eye  open  for  any  sign  of  Bert  de  Voe."  While  giving 
these  directions,  Smith  had  been  tightening  his  trouser 
band  and  searching  the  pockets  of  his  already  discarded 
coat.  "  Take  these  despatches,  too,"  he  added,  "  and 
forward  them  at  once  if  I  am  not  there." 

"  For  the  Lord's  sake,  what  are  you  a-goin'  for  to 
try?" 

"  Swim  for  it,"  replied  Smith,  and  slipped  overboard 
again. 

"  No  you  ain't  either,  by  jiggers  !  Why  it's  all  o' 
two  mile  !  Supposin'  you  get  a  cramp  all  alone  in  the 
dark.  I  don't  see  that  either  o'  them  folks  has  been  so 


408  Smith   Brunt. 

ever  kind  to  you  that  you've  got  a  call  to  risk  your 
life  for  'em  that  way." 

For  answer  Smith  only  waded  off  in  the  direction  of 
Bayhampton. 

"Come  back,  Smith;  you're  crazy  !  Darn  you,  come 
back  here  !  "  cried.  Carm,  plunging  after  him;  but 
before  he  could  catch  his  captain,  the  latter  had 
reached  the  deep  water  and  struck  off  through  the 
darkness  to  the  Northward,  with  one  good  arm  and  a 
fearful  pain  in  the  other. 

"'Tain't  no  use  a-talkin'  when  his  mad's  up  and  he's 
fightin'  his  luck,"  thought  Carm,  with  a  few  inward 
oaths.  "  Anyhow,  thank  goodness,  he's  pretty  near 
half  fish." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

IN  WHICH  MR.  HAWKINS  SETTLES  AN  OLD  ACCOUNT. 

WATER  knee-deep,  or  even  six  inches  of  it,  is  not 
an  aid  to  pedestrianism.  Carman  had  a  long 
way  to  wade  over  the  flats  to  the  nearest  point  on  the 
beach.  When  at  last  he  reached  dry  land,  the  night 
was  far  spent,  and  so  was  he.  He  threw  himself  down 
in  the  sedge  grass  to  rest  for  a  few  moments,  and 
vigorously  rubbed  his  legs  ;  then  jumped  up  and  started 
off  along  shore  for  the  Coons'  landing. 

He  heard  now  and  then  the  whistle  of  passing  snipe, 
and  sniffed  the  good  old  smell  of  the  salt  meadow  and 
the  seaweed.  From  one  of  the  marshy  points  flushed 
a  bunch  of  early  black  ducks,  who  rustled  up  and  away 
with  their  warning  cry  of  "  Trap."  Carm  mentally 
marked  the  spot,  and  looked  after  the  old  ducks  with 
a  chuckle. 

"Yes  yes,"  he  replied  to  their  hoarse  note.  "This 
is  me  sure  enough,  your  old  friend  Hawkins,  just 
home  from  sea.  It's  good  for  sore  eyes  to  see  each 
other  again,  ain't  it  ?  I'll  come  over  and  call  on  you 
folks  by  and  by,  now  that  I  know  where  you're 
boardin',  but  I  can't  bother  with  you  now.  There's 
another  old  friend  will  come,  too,  if  he  ain't  lost  to 
night  on  account  of  this  fool  business."  And  he  hur 
ried  on  faster. 

At  last  he  reached  the  point  on  the  bay  side  oppo 
site  the  hut  of  the  Coons',  and  near  the  spot  where  he 

409 


410  Smith   Brunt. 

and  Smith  had  put  out  for  snipe  on  the  day  when 
Smith  was  wounded  by  de  Voe  and  his  crew.  Here  he 
met  with  a  bitter  disappointment.  In  a  little  arm  of 
the  bay,  or  "lead,"  that  projected  into  the  meadow,  he 
had  expected  to  find  a  skiff  that  was  usually  harbored 
there.  This  boat  he  could  not  find  now,  though  he 
searched  the  length  of  the  lead  and  the  shores  of  the 
bay  in  both  directions.  It  had  been  there  recently, 
for  he  found  in  the  meadow  bank  the  mark  of  the 
stem  and  around  that  the  grass  freshly  trampled. 

The  only  hope  left  was  to  get  help  from  the  Flame. 
Before  he  had  gone  twenty  yards  toward  the  sand  hills 
he  stumbled  over  something,  and  fell  full  length  on  a 
"punty"  concealed  in  the  meadow  grass.  To  the  un 
initiated  be  it  explained  that  a  punty  is  a  small,  flat, 
very  low  boat,  completely  decked  except  for  a  space  in 
the  center  of  the  length  and  breadth  of  a  man,  which 
space  is  covered  by  a  hatch.  This  craft  is  made 
to  be  drawn  up  on  a  point  and  serve  for  a  blind  in  duck 
shooting.  The  deck  is  thatched,  and  the  sides  and 
hatch  combing  are  but  just  high  enough  to  conceal 
from  an  approaching  bird  a  man  lying  flat  on  his  back. 
It  can  be  readily  shoved  over  shoal  water,  but  is  rarely 
or  never  used  in  any  other  way.  Yes,  I  have  heard 
that  people  row  or  paddle  after  ducks  in  other  places, 
and  have  seen  pictures  in  advertisements,  of  sportsmen 
performing  that  act  ;  but  a  South  Side  punty  is  not  a 
sneak  boat,  and  no  one  could  grow  fat  on  the  able- 
bodied  birds  killed  in  the  Great  South  Bay  in  a  chase 
of  that  sort.  A  short  search  in  the  grass  near  by  pro 
duced  the  long  narrow  oar,  shaped  only  for  shoving. 
With  this  vessel  and  oar  it  would  be  easy  to  shove 
over  the  flats;  but  when  it  came  to  the  deep  water, 
that  would  be  another  matter.  Before  launching  the 


An  Old  Account.  411 

punty,  Carm  decided  to  look  for  the  schooner,  so  he 
hurried  over  to  the  ridge. 

The  dawn  was  breaking  now,  and,  as  he  reached  the 
top  of  the  nearest  hill  and  looked  out  to  sea,  he  beheld 
\\).Q  Flame  about  a  mile  away,  bowling  along  to  the 
West,  with  the  Dart  astern.  Evidently  she  had  carried 
out  the  seizure  successfully,  but  could  give  no  assist 
ance  now  to  her  captain. 

At  once  Carm  ran  down  the  hill  again  and  back  to 
the  punty,  planning  to  shove  back  to  the  stranded  cat- 
boat  and  paddle  over  to  the  main  land  with  one  of 
her  bottom  boards.  He  launched  the  flat  craft,  pray 
ing  that  it  had  been  put  in  order  for  the  fall  gunning, 
for  otherwise  its  seams  would  be  wide  open  after  dry 
ing  on  the  meadow  all  summer.  That  fear  vanished, 
however,  as  he  seized  the  long  oar  and  started  North 
ward,  for  out  in  the  bay  he  saw  by  the  growing  day 
light  a  small  sail  coming  over  toward  him  from  the 
direction  of  Bayhampton. 

With  an  exclamation  of  joy,  Carm  sent  the  punty 
along  faster  than  he  had  ever  shoved  before  in  his  life; 
and  that  was  very  fast,  for  he  was  one  of  the  best 
shovers  in  the  bay,  and  asked  no  odds  from  even  any 
Shinnecock  or  East  Bay  man.  He  watched  the  ap 
proaching  sail  closely,  but  after  a  few  minutes  became 
very  much  puzzled. 

"  That's  the  old  he-coon  now,  or  leastways  it's  his 
skiff,"  he  thought;  "but  where  the  dickens  does  he 
think  he's  a-goin'?  No,  'tain't  him  neither,  nor  any 
other  bayman,  unless  he's  drunk.  There  !  I  thought 
so.  I  guess  he'll  wait  for  me  a  little  while  now.  That 
little  skiff  can't  get  stuck  very  hard,  but  I  can  get  near 
enough  to  hail  before  he  gets  off  again." 

These  reflections  were  caused  by  the  course  of  the 


4*2  Smith  Brunt. 

approaching  navigator,  who  was  apparently  regardless 
of  the  channel,  and  now  brought  up  all  standing  on  the 
edge  of  the  flats.  Carm,  who  had  before  been  aiming  to 
intercept  her  course,  now  headed  straight  for  the  sail 
boat  and  shoved  even  harder  than  ever.  He  saw  a 
man  rise  up  in  the  skiff,  and  feel  about  with  an  oar  as 
though  taking  soundings.  This  individual  was  evi 
dently  discouraged  by  his  investigations,  for  he  shortly 
got  into  a  small  flat-bottomed  boat,  or  "  sharpie,"  he 
had  been  towing,  and  continued  his  voyage  with  oars. 
Having  his  back  toward  Carman,  he  did  not  see  him 
until  within  a  gunshot,  when  he  looked  over  his 
shoulder  to  get  his  bearings.  At  once  he  turned  his 
boat  and  endeavored  to  pull  away  in  another  direc 
tion  ;  and  at  the  same  moment  Carm  recognized  the 
red-bearded  seaman  of  the  Dart. 

The  South  Bayman  chuckled  with  delight  as  he  saw 
his  deep-sea  enemy  trying  to  row  away  from  him  in  the 
shoal  water.  With  an  easy,  graceful  motion  he  swung 
along,  going  three  feet  to  the  oarsman's  one.  I  have 
seen  the  far-sung  gondolier  guiding  his  somber  craft 
along  the  Grand  Canal  ;  I  have  seen  glance  the  "light 
caique  along  the  foam  "  (a  writer  delights  to  tell  what 
he  has  seen,  and  this  is  my  first  excuse  for  it,  so  you 
must  wait  until  I  have  done)  ;  I  have  seen  the  half- 
naked  Japanese  fisherman  sculling  his  bric-a-brac  sam 
pan  across  a  fan-picture  harbor,  and  the  wholly  naked 
Malay  cutting  about  in  his  narrow  canoe  like  a  flying 
fish  ;  but  nowhere  have  I  ever  beheld  such  a  combina 
tion  of  apparent  ease,  grace,  and  power  as  is  presented 
by  a  skillful  South  Sider  shoving  a  punty. 

This  chase  was  not  an  altogether  cautious  proceed 
ing  on  Carman's  part,  however,  for  suddenly  the  red- 
haired  man  shipped  his  oars  and,  drawing  a  pistol,  fired 


An  Old  Account.  413 

quickly  at  his  pursuer.  Carm  ducked  at  the  shot  like 
a  loon.  Whether  he  was  actually  too  quick  for  the 
flintlock,  or  whether  the  other's  aim  was  disturbed  by 
haste  and  the  unsteadiness  of  his  boat,  at  any  rate  the 
bullet  went  over  its  mark.  Carm  straightened  up 
again,  and  with  two  more  vigorous  strokes  shot  along 
side  the  chase. 

"  Well,  well,  if  it  isn't  my  long-lost,  golden-haired 
loved  one  !  "  he  remarked,  with  a  happy  grin.  "  That 
salute  was  kind  of  unsociable,  but  I  suppose  you  didn't 
recognize  me,  eh  ?" 

"  You  d clam  digger!  "  cried  the  other,  rising  to 

his  feet  and  drawing  his  cutlass.  "Keep  off,  or  I'll  put 
this  through  you." 

"Now  that's  a  kind  of  an  ill-bred  way  to  pass  the 
time  of  day  with  an  old  friend,"  answered  Carm.  "  I 
guess  I'll  have  to  learn  you  better,  Cap."  Planting  his 
oar  firmly  on  the  bottom,  he  whirled  his  punty  half 
round,  and  then,  with  all  his  force,  drove  her  ahead 
squarely  against  the  sharpie's  quarter.  The  light,  flat- 
bottomed  craft  spun  from  the  blow,  like  a  top  ;  its  oc 
cupant  pitched  overboard,  and  the  next  moment  was 
sprawling  on  his  face  in  ten  inches  of  water,  with  Mr. 
Hawkins  kneeling  between  his  shoulder  blades. 

"  Guess  you  dropped  somethin'  overboard,  didn't 
you,  Cap  ?  "  inquired  Carm,  pleasantly.  "  Did  you  get 
your  feet  wet?  Now,  my  bold  privateersman,  I'm  goin' 
to  teach  you  how  to  ketch  clams.  You'll  know  as 
much  as  us  clam  diggers  'fore  I  get  through  with  you." 

So  saying,  he  wound  his  hand  in  the  red  hair  and 
forced  the  head  of  his  prostrate  enemy  under  water. 

"  Now  you  want  to  dig  round  with  your  front  teeth, 
and  when  you  git  a  good  mouthful,  I'll  haul  you  up 
and  see  what  you've  ketched.  So,  there  ;  now  let's 


414  Smith   Brunt. 

see  what  luck  you  had  that  time."  He  raised  the  man's 
head  above  water  again,  while  the  latter  spluttered 
and  swore. 

"  By  ginger  !  Not  a  dern  clam.  Down  you  go 
again.  Now  rummage  about,  rummage  about.  Put 
some  heart  into  your  work.  You  ain't  got  no  ambition, 
Willie,"  and  he  rubbed  the  poor  rascal's  face  in  the 
sand. 

This  operation  was  repeated  several  times,  until  the 
subject,  weak  and  nearly  drowned,  begged  for  his  life, 
between  duckings. 

"  Well,  dearie,  I  guess  you  ain't  much  good  for  oyster 
tongs,  after  all,  but  you  know  somethin'  more  about 
clam  diggers  now,"  said  Carm.  "  I  ain't  got  no  more 
time  to  spend  on  your  education,  anyhow,  so  I'll  just 
tie  you  up  and  take  you  home." 

Taking  the  other's  cutlass,  he  rose,  and,  warning  his 
captive  to  lie  still,  reached  out  and  drew  to  him  the 
painter  of  the  sharpie.  With  a  piece  cut  from  this  he 
lashed  together  the  arms  of  his  prisoner,  and  then  or 
dered  him  to  get  aboard  the  punty.  The  man  obeyed 
quietly,  full  of  sullenness  and  salt  water.  \Vith  the 
sharpie  in  tow,  Carm  shoved  rapidly  to  the  stranded 
sailboat,  and,  as  he  had  hoped,  found  it  no  difficult  mat 
ter  to  get  her  afloat  again.  He  worked  the  punty  oar 
down  into  the  sand  for  a  stake,  made  both  the  small 
boats  fast  to  it  so  as  not  to  be  impeded  by  them,  then 
with  his  prisoner  sailed  for  Bayhampton  over  the 
course  which  he  knew  Smith  must  have  taken.  But  of 
picking  up  his  officer  he  had  little  hope  ;  for  he  knew 
that  by  this  time  Smith  was  probably  either  safe  ashore, 
or  beyond  all  help. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  FINISH  OF  THE  RACE. 

since  her  father's  death,  Grace  de  Voe  had 
been  living  quietly  with  the  Lawrences  at  Bayhamp- 
ton.  Her  reappearance  there  had  of  course  created  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  and  many  "  I  told-you-sos;  " 
but  none  of  the  village  gossip  annoyed  her  ears, 
whereas  in  New  York  she  would  have  been  overwhelmed 
with  inquisitive  sympathy,  and  would  have  seen  the 
heads  meeting  behind  the  fans  wherever  she  went. 
The  quiet  of  the  Long  Island  village  and  its  contrast  to 
her  life  of  the  last  two  years  were  very  comforting  to 
her,  and  before  long  the  first  pain  was  nearly  dead. 
A  strong  nature  can  overcome  a  great  grief;  a  weak 
one  also  may  often  rally,  aided  by  its  very  shallowness. 
The  difference  lies  in  this,  that  the  former  will  win  out 
under  any  circumstances,  whereas  the  latter  cannot 
stand  the  strain  without  diversion.  In  the  novels,  a 
young  woman  crossed  in  love,  stricken  with  grief,  or 
penitent  for  a  sin,  gets  her  to  a  nunnery — a  very 
available  method  of  disposing  of  herself.  It  is  handy 
for  the  author,  and  no  doubt  affords  immediate  relief 
to  the  lady  ;  but  how  she  enjoys  the  nunnery  after  the 
first  year  or  two,  the  books  say  not.* 

The  first  six  months  at  Bayhampton   were   soothing 
and    blessed    to  poor  Grace  ;  after    that  the    remedy, 

*  A  mere  pert  generality.     I  can  already  think  of  two  exceptions, 
"  Marmion  "  and  the  great  chronicle  of  "  Hereward  the  Wake." 

415 


4i 6  Smith  Brunt. 

having  effected  much  of  its  cure,  grew  irksome.  She 
would  rather  have  cut  out  her  tongue  than  have  let  her 
kind  hosts  suspect  this  fact.  The  Lawrences  thought 
her  sadness  came  solely  from  her  sorrow,  and  redoubled 
their  efforts  to  comfort  her.  When  she  was  not  by, 
the  Squire  breathed  brimstone  hotter  and  hotter 
against  his  nephew.  But  their  neighbor,  the  retired 
man-of-the-world,  diagnosed  the  case  from  the  first 
symptoms  ;  for  indeed  he  had  been  expecting  it. 

"A  butterfly  does  not  become  a  bee,  Harry,  merely 
because  it  is  wounded,"  said  Captain  Brunt. 

One  day  the  old  soldier  came  upon  Grace  sitting 
alone  on  the  porch  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  boathouse,  with 
her  chin  resting  on  her  hand  and  her  elbow  on  her 
knee,  looking  out  over  the  bay  instead  of  at  a  book 
that  lay  on  her  lap.  He  sat  down,  and  drew  her  to  his 
shoulder,  saying: 

"There  are  more  seagulls  than  orioles  here,  are 
there  not,  Grace  ?  I  fear  it  is  a  bleak  shore  for  a 
bright  little  bird  of  beautiful  plumage." 

"  It  is  a  kind  and  hospitable  shore,  Captain  Brunt," 
she  replied,  "and  a  safe  one." 

"  Yes,  but  lonely.  Suppose  I  suggest  to  Harry  that 
he  take  you  away  for  a  little  while,  to  some  place 
where  there  is  more  amusement,  eh  ?  " 

"Oh,  no!  no!"  exclaimed  Grace,  "I  would  not  have 
him  think  me  unhappy  here  for  worlds.  Besides,  I  shall 
learn  to  like  it  soon,  I  am  sure.  Have  I  not  your 
example  before  me  ?  You  live  here  all  alone  ;  the  one 
whom  you  love  most  in  the  world  is  away  almost  all 
the  time  ;  and  yet  you  are  never  dull  or  lonely— at  any 
rate  you  never  seem  so." 

"  And  would  you  compare  yourself,  Mistress  Oriole, 
to  a  gray  old  fishhawk  like  me  ?  "  laughed  the  Cap- 


The  Finish  of  the  Race.  417 

tain.  "  I  have  my  farm,  and  the  fishes,  and  the  birds 
to  amuse  me,  and  in  my  library  are  many  old  and  dear 
friends.  Besides,  it  is  nearly  bedtime  for  me  now,  you 
see,  the  hour  when  a  man  is  content  to  sit  alone  with 
his  pipe.  You  are  in  the  full  morning  of  your  life, 
young  lady,  and  ought  to  keep  out  in  the  sunlight  as 
much  as  you  can." 

"  It  is  a  cloudy  morning  now,  Captain  Brunt," 
answered  Grace. 

"  Is  it  not  possible  that  you  may  look  at  it  through 
smoked  glass  ?  Have  you  made  perfectly  sure  that  all 
the  clouds  are  really  there,  and  cannot  be  rolled 
away  ? " 

Grace  shook  her  head,  but  the  Captain  continued 
gently:  ''Forgive  me  for  touching  on  the  subject  at  all, 
dear  child,  and  do  not  think  that  I  am  trying  to  pry 
into  any  of  your  secrets,  or  even  to  invite  your  confi 
dence  ;  but  during  my  life  I  have  seen  so  many,  many 
clouds  with  floods  of  sunshine  behind  them,  that  in 
almost  any  weather  I  hope  for  a  clear.  I  know  exactly 
the  sort  of  life  you  have  had  to  lead  during  the  past 
two  years,  and  its  trials.  Love  in  a  cottage  has  its 
difficulties  ;  but  love  among  palaces  on  a  cottage  in 
come  is  harder  and  rarer  still.  Had  you  started  in 
matrimony  with  your  father's  consent  and  aid,  the  re 
sult,  I  am  sure,  would  have  been  different  from  that  of 
your  more  romantic  venture.  I  do  not  mean  that  in 
the  least  for  a  sermon,  Grace,  but  for  a  preamble  to 
this  suggestion — that  your  circumstances  are  now  far 
less  trying,  and  that  you  might  forgive  and  forget  all 
the  past  and  start  anew,  with  none  of  the  former  ob 
stacles.  .  Is  it  not  so  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  no,  it  is  not  so!  All  that  you  say  is  true; 
but  I  could  have  suffered  everything  patiently,  if  he 


418  Smith   Brunt. 

had  not  done  the  last  thing.  That  I  can  never  forget 
or  forgive.  It  is  too  terrible  to  tell  you." 

Captain  Brunt  looked  grave. 

"  Then,  again  I  ask  your  forgiveness  for  touching  on 
the  subject  ;  but  before  I  am  silent,  let  me  make  one 
further  suggestion.  Is  this  injury  something  of  which 
you  yourself  absolutely  know,  relying  on  no  testimony 
other  than  that  of  your  own  ears  and  eyes  ;  or  did  the 
knowledge  of  it  come  to  you.  indirectly  in  any  particu 
lar?  Did  any  third  person  have  anything  to  do  in  any 
way,  however  remote,  with  bringing  it  to  your  notice  ?  " 

Grace  looked  at  him  with  a  new  light  in  her  eyes. 
That  very  same  hopeful  doubt  had  been  growing  in  her 
mind  ever  since  the  effect  of  the  shock  had  weakened. 
She  felt  now  that  she  ought  long  ago  to  have  confided 
in  this  strong,  gray-haired  gentleman.  Then  and  there 
she  poured  out  to  him  the  whole  wretched  story  ;  no, 
not  all  of  it,  for  of  the  note  opened  by  mistake  she 
felt  that  she  could  not  in  honour  speak. 

"  I  am  very  glad  indeed  that  you  have  told  me  this/' 
said  Captain  Brunt,  when  Grace  had  finished,  "and  I 
think  there  may  be  a  great  deal  of  smoked  glass  be 
tween  you  and  the  sky.  Do  you  not  see,  dear,  that 
you  have  condemned  the  accused  without  a  hearing  ? 
Now,  I  will  tell  you  frankly  that  to  my  mind  your  hus 
band  was  a  spoiled  child  and  a  wrong-headed  youth  ; 
nor  can  I  approve  of  his  conduct  toward  either  your 
father  or  you,  so  far  as  I  know  it  ;  but  he  is  no  such 
contemptible  character,  as  he  would  be  if  all  this  were 
true.  I  would  never  believe  Herbert  capable  of  that, 
without  overwhelming  proof.  And  what  proof  have 
you  received  ?  It  has  all  come  through  this  man 
Wycherleigh.  Such  evidence  should  be  carefully 
weighed  in  any  case,  but  coming  from  this  particular 


The  Finish  of  the  Race.  419 

man,  it  is  especially  suspicious.  I  have  known  Hugh 
Wycherleigh  and  his  reputation  years  ago,  and  even 
then,  when  a  very  young  man,  he  was  the  meanest 
blackguard  for  a  gentleman  that  I  have  ever  met — and 
that  is  saying  a  great  deal,  my  dear.  Take  my  word 
for  it,  this  thing  will  yet  be  cleared  up.  Be  careful  that 
you  yourself  put  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  clear 
ing.  When  Herbert  asks  for  it,  give  him  every  chance 
to  be  heard." 

It  was  some  relief  to  Grace  to  be  strengthened  in 
the  hope  that  her  worst  injury  might  be  a  deception. 
But  that  Herbert  would  ever  come  back  to  her,  she 
had  little  hope.  Where  he  was,  and  what  he  was  doing, 
she  did  not  know,  and  would  not  conjecture,  for  into 
every  guess  entered  the  horror  of  that  missent  note. 
She  utterly  refused  to  write  to  any  address  that  would 
reach  him,  and  before  long  her  father-confessor 
shrewdly  suspected  that  he  had  not  heard  everything. 

One  night  in  the  autumn,  Captain  Brunt  was  roused 
from  his  bed  by  loud  knocking  on  the  door  of  his 
house. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  What's  the  matter  ?  "  he  called 
from  the  window. 

"  Me,  sir,"  came  the  reply,  "  John  Coon.  Come 
quick.  There's  pirates  on  the  Beach,  and  two  of  'em 
is  in  Bayhampton  now." 

Captain  Brunt  hurriedly  drew  on  a  pair  of  breeches 
and  boots,  took  a  pistol  and  a  candle,  and  went  down 
to  the  front  door.  On  the  porch  he  found  the  half- 
breed  dweller  of  the  Beach,  who  was  in  great  excite 
ment. 

"  Come  in  and  tell  me  what  you  have  to  say,"  com 
manded  the  captain. 

The  man  obeyed  and   told  how  he  had  been  roused 


420  Smith   Brunt. 

that  night  in  his  hut  by  a  party  of  armed  seamen. 
His  wife  had  whispered  to  him  that  the  leader  was  the 
same  man  who  had  got  them  into  trouble  before,  about 
the  city  lady.  This  man  had  demanded  to  be  sailed 
over  the  bay  ;  but  on  seeing  the  small  size  of  Coon's 
skiff  had  decided  to  take  but  one  companion  with  him. 
Coon  had  been  forced,  at  the  muzzle  of  a  pistol,  to 
pilot  them  across,  but  had  wasted  all  the  time  he  dared 
in  the  hope  of  daylight.  They  had  come  to  Mr.  Law 
rence's  dock  ;  the  leader  had  ordered  them  to  wait 
there,  and  had  gone  up  the  lane  alone.  A  little  while 
after  that,  when  the  other  was  not  looking,  Coon  had 
slipped  away  and  come  straight  to  this  house,  which 
was  nearest.  He  hoped  Captain  Brunt  would  not  hold 
him  to  blame. 

Just  as  he  finished,  there  came  another  tremendous 
rapping.  Before  opening  the  door,  the  captain  got  his 
shotgun,  primed  it,  and  handed  it  to  the  Coon.  Then 
holding  his  pistol  in  one  hand,  with  the  other  he  threw 
open  the  door.  He  beheld  a  figure,  weird  and  terrific 
indeed. 

His  broad  form  encased  in  a  dressing  gown  of  which 
the  skirts,  blowing  open,  disclosed  a  nightshirt  and  a 
pair  of  massive  bare  legs  beneath,  terminating  in  car 
pet  slippers  ;  his  head  protected  by  a  nightcap,  not 
gracefully  drooped  after  the  Neapolitan  fashion,  but 
drawn  down  practically  over  the  ears  so  that  the  tassel 
stuck  up  fiercely  like  the  crest  of  a  helmed  knight  ;— 
stood  Squire  Lawrence.  He  carried  his  great,  double- 
barrelled  eight-bore  mounted  on  his  shoulder,  and  for 
a  secondary  battery,  a  pair  of  horse  pistols  stuck 
beside  his  old  cavalry  sabre  in  the  dressing-gown  cord 
that  creased  his  ample  midship  section. 


The  Finish  of  the  Race.  421 

The  moment  the  stout  magistrate  caught  sight  of 
the  Coon,  he  roared  out  : 

"  You're  mixed  up  in  this,  are  you  ?  Once  w.asn't 
enough  for  you,  eh  ?" 

"  Hold  hard,  Harry,"  said  Captain  Brunt,  trying  to 
control  his  laughter.  "  John  is  not  responsible,  and 
has  done  the  right  thing  this  time.  Now  what  is  your 
report  ?  " 

"  He  has  turned  up,"  quoth  Mr.  Lawrence,  laconically. 

"Who?"  asked  the  Captain,  though  he  had  already 
surmised. 

"  That  d nephew  of  mine,  Bert  de  Voe." 

"  Where  did  you  see  him  ?     Where  is  he  now  ?" 

"  At  my  house.     Locked  up  in  the  coat  closet." 

"Where?"  exclaimed  Captain  Brunt.  "What  the 
deuce  have  you  done  ?  " 

"Well,  just  hold  on  a  minute  and  I'll  tell  you," 
growled  the  Squire,  evidently  not  in  the  best  of  hu 
mors.  "  Everybody  was  quietly  asleep  in  bed, — and 
gad,  we  well  might  be,  for  'tis  nearly  daylight  now, — 
when  I  heard  the  devil  of  a  thumping  on  the  front 
door.  I  went  down,  thinking  that  somebody  wanted  a 
warrant  in  a  hurry.  When  I  opened  the  door,  in 
walked  nobody  else  but  Bert  ;  and  the  first  thing  he 
says  is  *  Have  you  got  my  wife  here  ? '  I've  been  hop 
ing  for  an  interview  with  the  young  man,  anyway,  and 
his  coming  to  the  house  at  this  time  o'  night  in  this 
way  was  not  at  all  the  best  thing  for  him  to  do.  The 

rascal  was  armed,  too,  the  d pirate!  so  I  didn't  want 

to  waste  time  in  discussion  with  him.  I  don't  suppose 
I  could  last  for  as  much  as  one  round  nowadays,  Bob  ; 
but  for  the  first  lead  I  guess  I'm  about  as  good  as  I 
ever  was,  maybe  better,  for  I've  more  weight  behind  it. 
At  any  rate,  I  dropped  him  just  as  prettily  as  if  I'd 


422  Smith   Brunt. 

been  five-and-twenty.  Then  I  was  puzzled  what  to  do 
with  him,  so  before  he  came  to,  I  tied  him  up  and 
stowed  him  in  the  coat  closet  for  the  present.  You  see 
the  household  was  likely  waked  up  by  this  racket,  and 
I  didn't  want  Grace  to  see  the  beggar.  Then  I  de 
cided  to  come  and  talk  it  over  with  you.  I  didn't 
know  how  many  of  his  ruffians  might  be  outside  the 
house,  so  I  armed  myself.  I  didn't  see  any  ;  and  here 
I  am.  Now,  Bob,  what's  to  be  done  ? " 

As  he  wound  up  with  this  familiar  question,  the 
Squire  wore  such  an  absurd  expression  under  his  war 
like  nightcap  as  to  set  Captain  Brunt  shaking  with 
laughter,  in  spite  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 

"  You  have  acted  with  your  customary  tact  and 
promptness  of  decision,  Harry,"  he  said.  "  A  gentle 
man  comes  to  see  his  wife,  and  you  proceed  to  first 
assault,  and  then  bind  and  imprison  him  on  your  own 
peculiar  process." 

"  Hang  it,  Bob,  don't  make  fun  of  me,"  answered 
the  Squire.  "  I  had  to  act  quick.  The  question  now 
is,  how  are  we  to  keep  him  from  bothering  the  poor 
girl  ?  He's  all  safe  until  we  get  there.  His  hands  are 
tied,  and  I've  got  the  closet  key  in  my  pocket;  so  when 

he  comes  to,  he  can  kick  and  holler  and  be  d to 

him!  No  one  can  let  him  out." 

"  His  outcries  might  be  somewhat  disturbing  to  his 
wife,"  suggested  the  Captain. 

"  Gad,  I  didn't  think  of  that  !  "  exclaimed  the  Squire. 
"  I  hope  he'll  have  enough  good  taste  to  keep  his  head 
shut." 

"  Well,  come  along.  He  has  only  one  man  with  him, 
and  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  catch  that  rascal.  He 
may  go  back  for  help.  They  made  John  here  sail  them 
over."  So  saying,  the  Captain  led  the  way  out  of  the 


The  Finish  of  the  Race.  423 

house,  and  down  the  path  to  the  bay.  Over  the  short 
distance  to  the  Lawrences'  dock  they  hurried  fast  and 
silently  as  possible,  but  must  have  been  observed  by 
the  waiting  seaman  ;  or  else  that  wary  person,  after 
losing  the  Coon,  had  taken  the  precaution  to  lie  off 
shore.  At  any  rate,  when  they  arrived  at  the  dock  he 
was  off  in  the  skiff,  well  out  of  gunshot,  and  on  seeing 
them,  headed  at  once  for  the  Beach. 

"  He  may  bring  the  whole  gang  back  with  him,"  said 
the  Squire.  "  We  must  rouse  the  village  and  get  ready 
for  them." 

"  Don't  be  in  a  hurry  yet  about  that,"  suggested 
Captain  Brunt. 

"  He'll  take  long  time  gettin'  over,"  observed  the 
Coon,  with  a  grin.  "  It's  been  makin'  ebb  good  while 
now,  and  he  don'd  know  um  way.  She  very  light  draft, 
but  she  can'd  go  straight  over  'cep'  at  dead  high 
water." 

"  He  has  a  sharpie  in  tow,  though,"  said  Mr.  Law 
rence.  "  If  he  gets  hung  up,  he  can  shove  the  rest  of 
the  way.  John,  you  go  and  get  Hen  Smith  and  his 
boat,  and  go  after  that  beggar.  Take  this  gun.  You 
can  reach  him  a  long  way  off  with  her.  Don't  shoot 
unless  you  have  to,  though." 

"  And,  see  here,  John,"  added  Captain  Brunt.  "  Tell 
Hen  to  hold  his  tongue  about  this,  and  you  do  the 
same.  If  you  catch  that  man,  bring  him  to  my  house 
quietly  without  stirring  up  the  neighbors." 

The  Coon  took  the  fowling  piece  and  started  off  as 
directed,  while  the  two  gentlemen  bent  their  steps 
toward  the  house  of  Squire  Lawrence.  When  they 
came  to  the  door,  the  scene  within  by  the  candlelight 
bore  ill  testimony  to  the  virtue  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  seda 
tive  measures.  The  door  of  the  coat  closet,  broken 


424  Smith   Brunt. 

from  its  hinges,  lay  on  the  floor.  In  the  middle  of  the 
hall  stood  Herbert  de  Voe,  his  arms  still  bound.  On 
the  stairs,  facing  him,  were  Mrs.  Lawrence  and  Grace. 
The  old  lady,  in  her  nightcap  and  dressing  gown,  was 
supporting  and  making  a  foil  for  the  young  one,  whose 
long,  thick  hair  hung  down  over  her  wrapper,  and 
whose  beauty  seemed  heightened  by  her  nervous  ex 
citement. 

"  Zounds  !  "  roared  the  squire,  as  he  took  in  the  situ 
ation.  "  Here's  all  the  fat  in  the  fire  !  You  cursed 
young  ruffian,  why  couldn't  you  keep  quiet  ?" 

De  Voe  turned,  with  all  his  old  swagger. 

"  Pardon  my  seeming  reflection  on  your  hospitality, 
dear  uncle,"  he  said,  "  but  I  took  the  liberty  of  making 
myself  somewhat  more  comfortable.  A  desire  to  see 
my  wife,  I  hardly  thought  a  crime  that  merited  impris 
onment." 

"A  pretty  time  and  method  you  chose  for  it!  "  an 
swered  old  Lawrence,  hotly.  "  Lucky  for  you  that  I 
didn't  shoot  you  dead  for  raiding  my  house  vi  et  armis 
at  this  time  of  night." 

"  I  owe  you  an  apology,  certainly,  for  calling  at  such 
an  hour,"  replied  de  Voe,  coolly;  "but  I  had  reasons 
for  haste.  As  you  have  now  disarmed  me,  and  found 
that  I  am  alone  and  not  dangerous,  perhaps  you  will 
have  the  kindness  to  unbind  me.  If  you  will  but  do 
me  that  small  favor,  I  will  go  away  and  never  trouble 
your  house  again." 

"  By  fury  and  blazes,  young  scoundrel!  "  burst  out  his- 
uncle,  "  I'll  grant  you  a  greater  favor  than  that.  In 
stead  of  sending  you  to  Riverhead  jail  with  the  rest  of 
your  pirates,  when  I  catch  'em,  I'll  have  you  out  like  a 
gentleman,  and  put  a  bullet  down  your  throat,  even  if 
you  are  my  own  sister's  son." 


The  Finish  of  the  Race.  425 

De  Voe  reddened  fiercely,  but  before  he  could  reply, 
Captain  Brunt  stepped  in  front  of  the  irate  Squire. 

"  Steady,  Harry.  Remember  the  women.  Let  me 
manage  this  affair,  please,"  he  said,  quietly. 

What  manner  of  oil  Captain  Brunt  would  have 
poured  on  the  troubled  waters  I  do  not  know,  for  at 
that  instant  he  was  interrupted  by  a  cry  from  Mrs. 
Lawrence.  Both  women,  with  scared  faces,  were 
pointing  toward  the  door.  The  men  looked  in  that 
direction,  and  ceased  speaking. 

There,  in  the  doorway,  was  an  apparition  like  a  dead 
man  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  so  white  and  drawn 
was  the  face  thereof,  while  water  dripped  from  every 
part.  Strings  of  sea  grass  hung  over  the  shoulders 
and  round  the  legs.  Over  an  arm  that  hung  limp  the 
wet,  clinging  shirtsleeve  was  stained  with  blood.  Only 
the  eyes  showed  the  light  of  a  living,  determined  soul. 

For  a  moment  the  group  in  the  hall  kept  silence,  hor 
rified,  and  then,  with  one  voice,  exclaimed,  "  Smith 
Brunt  !" 

Smith  staggered  into  the  hall.  For  once  in  his  life, 
he  looked  rather  remarkable.  His  father  ran  towards 
him  ;  but,  supporting  himself  against  the  hall  table,  he 
held  up  his  hand. 

"One  minute,  father.  Mrs.  de  Voe,  and  Herbert,  I 
would  like  to  speak  to  you  both  a  moment,  please, 
without  the  others." 

The  older  people  withdrew  to  the  end  of  the  hall. 
In  low  tones,  broken  by  twinges  of  pain,  Smith  repeated 
to  the  de  Voes  the  story  of  the  changed  note.  Herbert, 
who  had  at  first  approached  coldly,  expecting  to  be 
arrested  on  the  charges  of  Carman  Hawkins,  dropped 
his  sneer  and  became  eager  and  excited. 

"  The  hound!  "  he  muttered,  when  Smith  had  finished. 


426  Smith   Brunt. 

<l  Grace,  in  the  name  of  Heaven,  what  did  that  villain 
do?  Was  that  why  you  left  me  ?" 

"  Come  into  the  library,  Herbert,  and  I  will  tell  you 
everything,"  answered  Grace,  in  a  choking  voice. 
"  Now  I  know  that  they  were  both  lies."  She  tried  to 
untie  the  cords  around  her  husband's  arms  ;  and  Mr. 
Lawrence,  much  puzzled,  but  seeing  that  affairs  were 
taking  an  entirely  new  turn,  came  and  helped  her. 
Herbert,  unbound,  went  into  the  dark  library  with  his 
wife,  and  there  the  two  sat  together  for  over  an  hour. 

Meantime  Smith  Brunt  was  laid,  almost  unconscious, 
on  a  bed,  and  the  doctor  was  summoned  to  set  his 
wounded  arm,  that  had  been  bruised  and  broken 
against  the  centerboard  trunk  of  the  grounded  cat- 
boat. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

IN  THE  MATTER  OF  THE  WYCHERLEIGH  TITLE. 

WHEN    Mr.    Carman    Hawkins    returned    with  his 
captive  in  triumph,  he  found  Squire  Lawrence 
and  half  Bayhampton  on  the  dock. 

The  proceedings  of  the  reception  committee  were 
cut  short,  and  Carm  and  his  prisoner  went  with  Mr. 
Lawrence  to  his  house.  There  a  conference  was  held 
between  Captain  Brunt,  the  Squire,  Smith,  and  Carman. 
For  the  sake  of  Mrs.  de  Voe,  Carm  readily  agreed  to 
make  no  charges  against  her  husband.  Herbert  had 
stated,  and  sincerely  (for  with  all  his  faults  he  was  not 
a  liar),  that  he  had  intended  to  return  for  Carm  at 
an  early  date,  and  had  been  informed  that  the  Bijunga 
Islands  were  inhabited  by  a  friendly  people. 

"  It  is  letting  off  the  young  scamp  more  easily  than 
he  deserves!  "  growled  the  Squire.  "But  after  all,  he 
is  still  my  nephew,  and  somehow  I  am  not  sure  that 
his  wife  is  not  still  in  love  with  him.  I  suppose  she 
wouldn't  want  to  see  him  hanged,  and  neither  would 
poor  Polly,  if  she  were  alive.  If  he'll  get  out  of  the 
country,  that  is  all  I  ask.  He  shall  go  alone,  too,  if 
Grace  takes  my  advice." 

"  Which  she  won't,"  observed  Captain  Brunt.  "  She 
is  still  in  love  with  him,  and  having  found  him  not 
utterly  base  to  her,  will  consider  him  an  unappreciated 
paragon.  It  is  just  as  well,  Harry,  for  they  had  better 
finish  their  lives  together,  or  at  any  rate  try  again. 

427 


428  Smith  Brunt. 

think  that  Herbert  rich  will  probably  behave  very 
differently  from  Herbert  poor." 

Carm  was  equally  lenient  toward  his  water-logged 
prize.  "  You  see,  he  never  did  actually  kill  me,  so  far  as 
I  know,"  he  explained.  "  Leastways  I  wouldn't  like  to 
swear  he  did;  though  he  appeared  to  have  a  call  that 
way.  But  I've  had  fun  enough  out  o'  him,  now  I  tell 
yer.  Now  I  guess  I'll  drop  in  on  my  Aunt  Hepsy,  and 
stow  some  buckwheats  in  my  vain  and  hollow  stomach." 

So  the  wanderer  returned  to  the  bosom  of  his  aunt. 
With  more  emotion  than  she  usually  displayed,  Aunt 
Hepsy  quoted  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  served  up  the 
fatted  griddlecakes  in  smoking  batches.  Between 
installments  and  mouthfuls,  Carman  gave  a  short  sum 
mary  of  his  history.  And  then  his  aunt  got  the  Bible 
and  read  him  Acts  v.,  i-io.  If  you  do  not  know  what 
is  therein  contained,  you  can  look  it  up — I  had  to. 

The  charge  against  the  red-headed  seaman,  for  at 
tempting  to  murder  Smith  on  the  beach  three  years 
before,  was  also  dropped  ;  for  Smith  did  not  care  to 
have  that  story  all  revived  in  court.  The  Squire 
would  not  allow  such  a  rascal  to  remain  loose  in  the 
county,  however,  so  de  Voe  took  his  precious  coxswain 
to  New  York,  and  kicked  him  adrift  in  South  Street. 
The  man  never  appeared  again  among  the  "  clam 
diggers,"  but  no  doubt  found  a  profitable  career  in  the 
West  Indies  until  the  gentlemen  of  fortune  in  those 
waters  were  finally  suppressed. 

Smith,  with  his  arm  in  a  splint,  rejoined  his  vessel 
that  same  day,  released  the  Dart,  and  sailed  around  to 
New  York,  where  he  reported  himself  and  forwarded 
his  despatches. 

Grace  joined  her  husband  in  town.  As  soon  as  they 
could  sell  the  schooner  and  arrange  for  the  disposition 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  429 

of  the  rest  of  their  property  so  as  to  live  abroad,  she 
and  her  Herbert  left  the  country  and  these  pages  for 
ever.  De  Voe's  conduct  during  the  v/ar  had  made 
their  position  in  New  York  unpleasant,  even  had  they 
cared  to  remain  there  under  any  circumstances.  So 
they  went  back  to  England  in  a  Liverpool  ship.  Old 
Captain  Brunt's  prophecy  was  verified  ;  Herbert,  hav 
ing  now  plenty  of  money,  became  a  respected  member 
of  society,  and  indeed  found  the  effort  no  great  strain 
in  those  fine  old  days  of  English  indoor  sports  ;  while 
Grace  was  able  to  snub  many  women  who  had  been 
disagreeable  to  her  in  the  period  of  her  first  brilliant 
but  precarious  bloom  in  England. 

It  might  be  supposed  that,  having  found  his  old 
friend  Carman  Hawkins,  having  beaten  his  luck  so 
handsomely  in  his  long  race  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
having  come  home  from  a  brilliant  war  cruise  in  a  tidy 
little  vessel  under  his  own  command,  Captain  Smith 
Brtrnt  would  now  be  an  extremely  happy  man.  He 
was  nothing  of  the  kind.  He  became  restless,  gloomy, 
and  indeed  at  times  almost  morose.  He  remained  day 
after  day  swinging  at  anchor  in  New  York  harbor, 
waiting  for  the  Flame  to  be  paid  off.  For  the  first  time 
in  his  career  he  grumbled  at  it,  and  even  talked  once 
about  resigning  and  going  into  the  merchant  service. 
This  desperate  suggestion  he  made  about  a  month 
after  his  arrival,  when  receiving  a  visit  on  board  from 
his  father.  In  the  midst  of  the  conversation,  Captain 
Brunt  bethought  him  of  a  letter  for  Smith  that  he  had 
brought  from  Bayhampton.  On  catching  sight  of  the 
name  of  an  English  packet  ship  in  the  superscription, 
Smith  eagerly  tore  open  the  letter,  and  without  stop 
ping  for  an  apology  to  his  father,  read  as  follows  : 


430  Smith  Brunt. 

"  TORMOUTH,  OCT.  ioth,  1815. 
"  DEAR  SMITH  : — 

"  You  left  Gibraltar  in  such  a  deuce 
of  a  hurry  that  I  had  no  time  to  tell  you  all  I  found  in 
Africa,  but  I  suppose  Hawkins  did.  I  have  given  up 
the  Spray,  and  shall  sail  for  the  States  in  a  packet,  I 
hope  within  two  weeks.  Waxham  insists  on  coming, 
too,  because  he  says  we  may  need  him  in  what  he  calls 
technical  matters,  but  he  is  so  jolly  slow,  that  I  will  be 
hanged  if  I  will  wait  for  him  much  longer.  I  suspect 
he  is  not  very  keen  about  going  to  sea  again,  and  I  can 
not  see  what  we  need  him  for,  anyway.  I  want  Mary 
to  come  with  me  and  see  Niagara  Falls  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing.  We  are  married  now.  Edith  says  I 
ought  not  to  wait  a  minute  longer.  You  see  she  feels 
very  strongly  about  not  keeping  Teddy  out  of  his  in 
heritance.  She  was  taken  all  aback  when  she  heard  of 
it,  and  wanted  me  to  go  at  once  in  the  Spray,  but 
Waxham  said  I  could  not  afford  that,  and  that  I  had 
had  her  too  long  already.  By  the  way,  I  kept  my  prom 
ise,  and  told  Edith  what  you  asked  me  to  about  you 
and  Mrs.  de  V.  I  told  her  how  really  put  out  you  were 
about  it,  and  that  I  believed  you  perfectly,  and  'she 
ought  to,  too,  no  matter  what  anybody  said.  She  only 
laughed  and  asked  me  whether  I  thought  her  skull  was 
as  thick  as  a  sailor's.  Nevertheless,  she  did  not  seem 
to  be  so  severe  about  you  as  good  women  generally  are 
about  such  things,  so  I  can  not  tell  what  she  meant  for 
the  life  of  me.  Perhaps  you  can.  That  confounded 
old  Waxham  had  to  go  and  drawl  out  the  story  of  your 
duel,  which  was  all  over  Gibraltar  that  same  day.  I 
explained  that  it  was  on  account  of  Commodore  Decatur, 
and  that  I  had  seen  the  row  in  June.  Then  a  jackass 
of  the  Rifles  who  is  a  neighbour  of  ours,  and  had  just 
come  up  from  Gib  on  leave,  came  over  to  see  us  and 
told  a  dozen  crazy  yarns  about  the  affair,  thinking  that 
he  was  uncommon  amusing.  They  were  all  built  on 
the  same  old  lie,  but  were  rigged  differently.  One  had  it 
that  de  Voe  had  wounded  you  mortally,  and  was  going 
over  to  kill  his  wife  ;  another,  that  he  was  a  pirate,  and 
you  had  been  sent  to  capture  him,  and  that  you  would 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  431 

probably  fight  again  at  sea.  By  the  way,  I  hope  you 
did  come  through  all  right  and  are  healed  of  your 
wound. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  this  thing  about  the  title  has 
affected  my  sister  a  good  deal,  for  she  has  not  been  a 
bit  well  or  like  herself  since  I  got  home.  I  tell  her  that 
of  course  it  was  not  our  fault,  and  Teddy  is  not  going 
to  blame  us,  but  she  seems  absurdly  worried  and  is  in  a 
deuce  of  a  wax  to  get  me  off.  I  send  this  letter  to 
your  home,  as  I  suppose  it  will  be  forwarded  to  you  from 
there.  Send  word  there,  to  let  me  know  where  you 
are.  Please  excuse  my  writing  and  form.  I  know 
when  one  writes  a  letter  one  ought  to  put  in  sentiments 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  but  I  have  not  got  time,  and 
writing  is  like  tarring  down  for  me,  anyway.  Hoping 
to  see  you  soon,  I  am 

"  Sincerely  yours, 

"T.  WYCHERLEIGH." 

Smith  suddenly  waked  from  his  mood  of  the  past 
month,  and  indeed  became  almost  excited. 

"This  was  written  on  the  loth  of  last  month,"  he 
said.  "  It  came,  you  see,  by  the  Evening  Star.  She 
made  a  slow  voyage,  for  I  have  been  watching  the  ar 
rivals,  and  remember  she  reported  thirty  days  from  Ply 
mouth.  And  that  was  a  week  ago.  So  you  see,  if  Tom 
sailed  when  he  expected  to,  he  ought  to  get  here  very 
soon.  By  George,  he  may  be  on  that  big  fellow  that  I 
saw  off  Governor's  Island  this  morning  !  She  looked 
like  a  packet." 

"All  of  which  is  Greek  to  me,"  observed  his  father, 
to  whom  Smith  had  as  yet  vouchsafed  nothing  of  the 
letter.  "  Is  that  letter  from  your  friend,  Wycherleigh?  " 

"Yes.  I  beg  your  pardon,  father,"  laughed  Smith. 
"He  writes  that  he  is  corning,  and  expected  to  sail 
within  two  weeks  from  the  date  of  this  letter,  October 
loth." 


432  Smith  Brunt. 

"  Heigho  !  "  Captain  Brunt  half  sighed.  "  That  means 
that  Damocles'  time  has  come."  Smith  had  told  him  the 
whole  story  of  Tom's  discoveries,  but  had  as  yet  kept  it 
from  Mr.  Lawrence.  "  Well,  I  must  see  poor  old  Hen 
at  once.  I  am  the  best  one  to  break  this  thing  to  him, 
and  by  telling  him  now  I  may  save  him  another  trip  to 
town.  He  has  something  in  the  fire-proof  vault  here 
that  he  may  need.  I  suppose  he  is  stopping  in  Pearl 
Street,  as  usual?" 

"  Yes,  but  he  will  hardly  be  there  now,"  said  Smith. 
"  He  was  going  to  see  the  de  Voes  off  this  morning, 
and  their  ship  is  not  yet  under  way.  She  hauled  out 
last  night,  and  will  drop  down  the  bay  with  the  ebb,  in 
about  an  hour.  I  went  to  say  good-bye  yesterday,  for 
the  sake  of  appearances.  Herbert  and  I  parted  politely, 
but,  as  Carm  would  say,  '  without  shedding  no  tears.'  It 
is  a  rather  queer  experience  to  fight  a  man  for  insulting 
his  wife,  and  a  month  later  to  bless  the  happy  couple." 

"I  have  known  stranger  things,"  laughed  the  older 
man.  "  But  how  can  I  soonest  find  Harry  ?  " 

"  Suppose  we  pull  over  to  the  Battery?  In  that  way 
we  can  head  off  Boss  Hen,  and  at  the  same  time  find 
out  about  that  newly-arrived  ship  and  who  came  on 
her." 

Smith's  gig  was  accordingly  called  away,  and  took 
him  and  his  father  toward  the  Battery  wharf.  When 
near  the  landing,  they  saw  the  shore  boats  putting  off 
from  the  departing  ship,  and  perceived  one  of  them  all 
down  by  the  stern  owing  to  the  presence  of  Mr.  Law 
rence  in  that  end  of  her. 

"  Hullo  there,  Bob  !  "  hailed  the  portly  gentleman, 
on  recognizing  the  Brunts.  "  You're  just  the  man  I 
want  to  see.  You,  too,  Smith.  Come  ashore.  I  want 
to  speak  to  both  of  you." 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  433 

On  the  wharf  the  Squire  seemed  greatly  agitated. 

"  Smith,"  he  exclaimed,  "  your  English  friend,  Wy 
cherleigh,  is  at  the  City  Hotel,  and  he's  stark,  staring 
mad." 

The  other  two  looked  at  each  other. 

"  Opened  fire  at  sight,"  commented  Smith.  "  Of 
course.  If  that  isn't  Tom  all  over  !  " 

"  Come  along,"  said  Mr.  Lawrence,  "  and  I'll  tell 
you  about  it  as  we  go.  I  was  just  leaving  the  hotel 
with  Herbert  and  Grace,"  he  continued,  as  the  three 
walked  together  through  the  Castle  Garden.  "  Their 
things  were  all  in  the  carriage,  and  so  was  Grace.  I 
was  just  getting  in  myself,  with  Herbert  behind  me, 
when  this  young  fellow,  who  had  just  come  with  a 
party,  evidently  from  a  ship,  came  charging  up. 
'Hullo  there,  Mr.de  Voe,' says  he.  'You  forgot  to 
clear  from  Gibraltar.  If  you're  sailing  from  this  port 
in  the  same  hurry,  I'd  like  to  ask  you  a  few  questions 
first.  Where  is  Smith  Brunt?'  he  asked.  'You 
didn't  like  what  I  said  last  time  we  met,  you  know,  and 
I  don't  mind  saying  it  again,  and — oh,  I  beg  pardon,  I 
thought  you  were  alone,'  says  he,  suddenly  stopping 
short,  for  he  had  caught  sight  of  Grace.  He  seemed 
very  much  astonished  at  seeing  her,  and  bowed  and 
got  rather  red.  Of  course  I  could  tell  there  was 
trouble  about,  and  Bert  looked  confoundedly  uncom 
fortable,  too.  I  will  say  that  he  acted  very  well, 
though,  for  he  took  the  Englishman  aside  politely  and 
talked  quietly  with  him  in  an  undertone.  In  a  few 
moments  they  came  back  to  the  carriage,  and  had  evi 
dently  decided  not  to  shoot  each  other.  Of  course  I 
was  delighted  when  I  heard  the  lad's  name,  but  I  was 
in  a  hurry  then,  and  told  him  I'd  come  right  back  and 


434  Smith  Brunt. 

call  on  him.     But  when  he  found  out  who  I  was,  what 
do  you  think  he  said  ? " 

"  I  think  I  can  guess  very  nearly,"  said  Smith. 
"  First  he  said,  «  Oh,  I  say,  this  is  jolly!  You're  just 
the  man  I'm  after,  you  know.' 

"Tone  and  words  almost  exactly,"  exclaimed  the 
Squire.  "  Then,  begad,  he  proceeded  to  inform  me  that 
Teddy  was  his  nephew  and  the  head  of  his  family,  and, 
as  he  put  it,  *  owns  the  whole  blessed  estate  you  know.' 
He  has  nearly  given  me  heart  disease.  I  suppose  it  is 
some  joke  between  him  and  Teddy,  that  I  don't  under 
stand;  but  I  don't  like  jokes  on  that  subject.  They 
are  in  bad  taste,  and  make  me  nervous.  Or  else,  as  I 
say,  the  boy  is  crazy.  Is  he  that  way  at  times  ?  " 

"  Frequently,"  admitted  Smith,  shaking  his  head. 
"  This  performance  is  not  very  much  more  crazy  than 
usual.  Did  he  say  it  was  *  a  rum  go  ? '  ' 

"Yes,  he  did,  and  in  just  that  funny  English  way," 
said  Mr.  Lawrence,  "  but  I  couldn't  continue  the  con 
versation  then,  as  I  had  to  drive  off  with  Herbert  and 
Grace.  Now,  what  is  this  joke,  or — or — confound 
it  !  what  the  devil  does  it  all  mean  ?  You  know  some 
thing  about  it,  both  of  you  ;  I  can  tell  from  the  way 
you  look  at  each  other,"  concluded  the  Squire  in  a 
tone  of  alarm. 

"  It  means,  my  dear  old  boy,"  said  Captain  Brunt, 
stopping  and  laying  his  hand  on  his  friend's  shoulder, 
"  it  means  that  the  time  has  come  to  open  old  Ben 
Orrin's  affidavit.  You  will  need  it  to  either  prove  or 
refute  what  young  Wycherleigh  is  going  to  tell  you. 
Smith  and  I  have  been  putting  off  this  moment  as 
long  as  we  could.  Come,  I  will  go  with  you  to  the 
vault  now  for  the  document,  and  Smith  can  go  on  to 
the  hotel  and  tell  Wycherleigh  that  we  are  coming. 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  435 

You  had  better  have  the  whole  story  at  first  hand  from 
him." 

Captain  Brunt  turned  through  the  Bowling  Green, 
with  his  arm  under  that  of  his  friend,  who  was  too 
dazed  for  the  moment  to  express  his  feelings,  as  usual. 
Smith  hurried  on  up  Broadway  to  the  City  Hotel. 
Much  as  he  loved  the  Lawrences,  and  deeply  as  he  felt 
for  them  in  the  impending  crisis,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  they  were  not  uppermost  in  his  mind.  He  soon 
came  in  sight  of  the  caravansary  that  extended  from 
Thames  to  Cedar  Street  on  Broadway,  a  cause  of  in 
ordinate  pride  to  the  growing  young  town.  There  on 
the  steps  stood  the  familiar  form  of  Tom  Wycherleigh, 
with  legs  apart  and  hands  in  pockets,  viewing  with 
amusement  the  hurrying  passers-by. 

"Ahoy,  there,  you  blessed  Britisher  !  "  hailed  Smith, 
and  out  came  Tom's  hands. 

"  How  is  Lady  Wycherleigh,  and  how  was  Miss 
Wycherleigh  when  you  left  ?"  was  Smith's  immediate 
double-barrelled  question,  the  first  barrel  being  for 
politeness. 

"All  well  aboard  the  convoy,  uncommon  well,  and 
jolly  fine  weather,"  replied  Tom,  beaming  broadly.  "  I 
say,  Smith,  you  ought  to  get  married,  you  know.  By 
Jove,  there's  nothing  like  it  !  Never  knew  what " 

"  But  how  did  you  leave  Miss  Wycherleigh  ?  "  re 
peated  Smith,  finding  that  he  had  missed  with  the 
second  barrel,  and  impatient  to  get  it  in  before  the 
rhapsody  on  matrimony.  "  You  said  in  your  letter 
that  she  was  not  very  well." 

"  Didn't  leave  her  at  all.     She's  here." 

"Here?" 

"Yes.  Came  over  to  see  Niagara  Falls,  you  know, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Mary  persuaded  her  at  the 


436  Smith  Brunt. 

last  minute  that  the  trip  would  do  her  good,  and  I 
believe  it  has  already,  for  she  has  been  cheery  as  a 
lark  for  the  last  hour.  Don't  see  why  either,  for  she 
was  jolly  ill  all  the  way  over  ;  but  I  suppose  it's  the 
change  from  shipboard,  you  know,  and  this  blue  sky 
you  have  here  in  Yankeeland." 

"Is  she — are  the  ladies  in  the  hotel  now?"  asked 
Smith. 

"  No,  they've  gone  exploring.  Waxham  is  inside, 
though.  I'm  waiting  for  your  friend,  Mr.  Lawrence. 
I  say,  he  is  a  fine  old  cock,  isn't  he  ?  " 

The  two  sailors  had  plenty  to  tell  each  other,  while 
waiting  for  the  older  men,  and  were  soon  joined  by  the 
lawyer.  Mr.  Waxham  was  much  dissatisfied  with 
republican  government,  having  searched  his  room  in 
vain  for  a  bathtub.  At  that  time  a  few  Englishmen 
were  beginning  to  bathe  every  day,  and  were  there 
fore  constantly  talking  about  their  tub,  as  do  now 
some  people  who  have  but  just  discovered  that  luxury. 
For  the  education  of  the  bystanders  in  the  hotel 
office,  Waxham  had  been  haranguing  the  surprised 
and  haughty  clerk  in  seesaw  accents.  The  contemp 
tuous  lord  of  the  office  did  not  love  him  for  the  notions 
he  expressed,  nor  did  Waxham  love  the  clerk  that  he 
did  pity  them.  The  bird-bath  dishes  encircling  his 
plate  at  breakfast  had  also  caused  the  attorney  to 
despair  of  our  institutions.  Fortunately,  however,  he 
was  not  sufficiently  interested  in  the  nation  to  be  dis 
tressed  by  these  defects  in  it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was 
rather  amused. 

Before  long,  Captain  Brunt  and  Mr.  Lawrence  ap 
peared.  After  mutual  greetings,  the  whole  party 
retired  to  Tom's  private  sitting  room.  Tom  asked, 
and  the  Squire  insisted,  that  Captain  Brunt  should  be 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  437 

present  at  the  interview  ;  and  Smith's  information  in 
regard  to  Benjamin  Orrin  was  wanted,  though  by  no 
means  promised.  The  Squire  was  under  very  high 
pressure,  and  would  undoubtedly  have  been  exploded 
by  Waxham  early  in  the  conference,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  vigilance  and  tact  of  Captain  Brunt.  Tom  told 
his  story,  with  an  introduction  and  notes  by  the  lawyer. 
"  And  so  you  see,"  he  wound  up,  "  Ted  is  the  baronet, 
and  owns  the  whole  estate.  Now  isn't  that  jolly  rum  ?  " 

"  Very  rum,  indeed,"  assented  the  Squire,  thickly, 
"  and  most  jolly." 

"  As  you  are  unacquainted  with  our  English  law, 
my  dear  sir,"  annotated  Waxham,  "  Mr.  Wycherleigh's 
rather  rapid  conclusion  may  require  some  explanation. 
You  see  in  what  we  call  an " 

"It  doesn't  require  a  d—  -  bit!  "  observed  the  Jus 
tice  of  the  Peace,  Then  slapping  the  table,  he  con 
tinued,  with  ill-suppressed  vehemence,  "  Of  course, 
gentlemen,  I  do  not  doubt  for  one  moment  any  particu 
lar  of  your  report;  but  every  bit  of  it  is  hearsay,  and 

before  you  take  my  boy  from  me,  by  G you  must 

produce  evidence" 

The  lawyer  looked  at  him  with  expanding  eyes. 
"  Perfectly  true,  sir;  perfectly  correct,"  he  exclaimed,  in 
a  tone  sounding  of  eagerness.  "  That  is  exactly  what 
I  have  told  Mr.  Wycherleigh.  But  can  I  understand 
— do  you  mean  to  imply  that — that  you  have  no  desire 
to  claim  for  this  boy  the  Wycherleigh  baronetcy?" 

"  Wycherleigh  baronetcy  be  d !  "  roared  poor  old 

Lawrence,  giving  way  at  last.  "Claim  it!  Claim  it! 
Zounds,  sir!  do  you  think  I  want  to  claim  my  everlast 
ing  misery,  claim  what  I  have  been  dreading  for  ten 
years?  Do  you  think  I  want  to  sue  for  a  childless  old 
age?  'Fore  G ,  to  have  my  only  son,  that  I  have 


438  Smith  Brunt. 

loved  and  reared  and  am  making  into  a  gallant  officer 
of  the  noblest  country  in  the  world,  yes,  the  best  in 

the  world,  by  G !  to  have  him  torn  away  from  me, 

taken  over  sea  to  another  land,  and  made  a  subject  of 
King  George?  No  !  and  what  is  more,  you  sha'n't  do 
it,  by  the  Lord,  you  sha'n't  do  it !  " 

"  Hold  on,  Harry,"  put  in  Captain  Brunt,  "  let  us  see 
what  poor  old  Orrin  has  to  say  first,  and  then  talk  it 
over  quietly." 

Waxham  was  too  nearly  paralyzed  with  astonish 
ment  to  say  anything.  Tom  during  the  outburst  had 
looked  from  face  to  face,  with  his  own  visage  growing 
longer,  and  now,  with  a  most  rueful  expression  and 
apologetic  manner,  stammered  : 

"  I  say,  I'm  uncommon  sorry.  I  begin  to  feel  like  a 
sneak.  I  didn't  mean  any  harm,  you  know.  I've  only 
tried  to  give  Ted  six  thousand  a  year  and  the  oldest 
place  in  Hampshire.  Of  course,  I  don't  mind  keeping 
it,  you  know,  if  I  ought  to." 

"  'S  death!  "  cried  the  Squire.  "  I  can  give  him  twice 
that  income,  and  lose  your  bit  of  an  English  park  in 
one  corner  of  the  Secatogue  patent.  No,  no,  lad — I 
beg  your  pardon,"  he  continued,  stretching  out  his 
broad  hand  to  Tom;  "  you  have  acted  like  a  splendid 
fellow  and  a  gentleman,  as  you  are,  and,  begad,  that's 
more  than  /am  doing.  But  'tis  hard,  and  I'm  a  chol 
eric  old  fool.  Your  loss  would  make  this  cursed  thing 
all  the  worse,  my  boy.  However,  there  is  a  chance 
yet.  We'll  obey  this  cold-blooded  old  Bob,  and  exam 
ine  this  paper  that  I  have  been  keeping  unopened  for 
nine  years.  It  may  upset  the  whole  thing,  and  save  us 
all,  for  whatever  is  written  here  I  will  accept  as  gospel, 
though  it  may  not  be  evidence.  'Tis  the  sworn  state 
ment  of  a  man,  now  dead,  whose  testimony  I  know 


The  Wycherleigh  Title.  439 

could  never  be  shaken  by  any  cross-examination.     The 
venue  and  jurat  I  wrote  myself." 

The  Squire  drew  from  his  pocket  a  folded  document, 
and,  breaking  the  outside  seal,  spread  the  paper  on  the 
table  before  him,  and  read  aloud  the  labored  but  per 
fectly  legible  writing.  It  sounded  like  a  message  from 
the  depths  of  the  sea. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
THE  AFFIDAVIT  OF  OREN  BENJAMIN. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  ) 
COUNTY  OF  SUFFOLK  j"  ^ 

<  '  T  OREN  BENJAMIN,  solemnly  swear  that  all  the 
1  }  things  I  write  here  are  true.  My  name  is  not 
exactly  Benjamin  Oren,  but  is  Oren  Benjamin.  I  was 
born  in  Kennebunkport,  in  the  province  of  Maine,  but 
the  year  I  do  not  know  for  certain,  saving  that  it 
was  before  the  old  war  with  the  French  and  Indians. 
When  I  was  but  a  very  young  lad,  still  going  to  school, 
but  grown  beyond  my  age,  I  was  out  a-fishing  one  day 
in  my  little  yawl  and  was  pressed  into  a  King's  ship.  I 
served  a  long  spell  in  the  King's  Navy,  on  the  old  Glori- 
ana,  which  was  hell  afloat;  but  at  last  I  got  clear  of  it, 
and  went  to  sea  ;  first,  in  the  bark  Gov.  Winthrop,  of 
Newburyport,  T.  Hopkins,  master,  in  the  Mediter 
ranean  trade,  and  then  two  voyages  in  the  Indiaman 
Three.  Sisters,  out  of  Boston,  J.  Coffin,  master.  When 
the  war  against  the  King  broke  out,  I  joined  the  Provi 
dence,  Captain  John  Paul  Jones.  I  followed  him  to 
the  Alfred,  and  all  his  other  ships,  the  Ranger,  and  the 
Richard,  and  the  Ariel. 

"  After  the  war,  there  being  no  more  navy,  I  went  a 

voyage  to  China  in  the  Alliance  when  she  was  turned 

into  an  Indiaman,  her  master  being  Captain  Read  that 

was,  and  after  that  I  was  some  years  on  the  brig  Mary 

440 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      441 

and  Julia  out  of  Baltimore,  W.  Johnson.  From  her, 
in  the  Mediterranean  I  was  again  pressed  into  an 
English  man-of-war,  the  Agamemnon,  64,  Captain  Nel 
son  ;  but  I  got  away  and  got  home  in  time  to  ship 
under  my  old  officer,  Captain  Dale,  on  the  old  Ganges, 
which  I  take  it  was  the  first  ship  in  commission  of  the 
new  navy.  I  was  a  boatswain's  mate  on  her  awhile,  in 
the  business  with  the  French  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
was  then  transferred  to  the  Constellation,  and  was  a 
gunner's  mate  on  her  with  Commodore  Truxton,  when 
we  took  the  Insurgent  and  whipped  the  Vengeance. 
Then  I  got  my  warrant,  and  in  the  late  Barbary  war 
was  gunner  of  the  Enterprise,  and  went  on  the  ketch 
Intrepid,  that  was  the  Mastico,  with  Captain  Decatur, 
when  he  burned  the  Philadelphia.  I  put  all  this  down, 
that  whoso  reads  it  may  find  that  I  am  truly  the  man  I 
say,  Oren  Benjamin,  gunner,  and  may  know  how  I  came 
to  these  doings  on  the  West  coast  of  Africa.  My  last 
ship  was  the  Nautilus,  Master-Commandant  Somers, 
and  I  went  with  him  again  into  the  harbor  of  Tripoli 
on  that  same  ketch,  the  Intrepid,  to  fire  the  shipping. 
But  we  went  aground,  and  were  laid  aboard  by  the 
Turkish  gunboats.  So  Captain  Somers  himself  blew 
up  our  craft,  and  I  have  since  heard  tell  that  neither 
he  nor  any  one  but  me  came  ashore  alive.  I  was  saved 
by  falling  overboard  before  she  blew  up. 

"  Somehow  I  drifted  ashore,  and  was  taken  by  the 
Moors.  They  carried  me  in  a  caravan  away  from  the 
High  Barbary,  all  across  the  desert  to  the  Westward. 
We  were  a  long  time  making  the  distance,  but  they  fed 
me  and  treated  me  well,  for  my  strength  was  worth 
money  to  them.  Only,  being  stripped  to  the  buff  above 
my  waist,  my  skin  got  burned  by  the  sun  and  hurt 
until  it  tanned  and  thickened,  which  is  why  my  body  is 


442  Smith  Brunt. 

so  brown,  like  a  heathen's.  At  last,  we  came  to  the 
port  of  Mogador,  on  the  West  coast  of  Morocco.  That 
is  a  great  slave  market,  and  I  was  sold  there  to  an  old 
Greek  slave  dealer.  In  the  'desert  they  had  let  me  go 
loose,  for  they  knew  I  could  not  get  away  there  ;  but 
here,  being  on  the  coast,  they  lashed  my  wrists  to 
gether,  and  made  me  fast  to  a  tent  pole,  and  put  a 
watch  over  me,  too.  While  I  was  standing  so,  they 
brought  into  the  tent  a  Christian  lady,  who  was  the 
most  beautiful  one  that  ever  I  have  seen  in  all  my  life. 
With  her  was  a  little  child  and  an  East  Indy  woman. 
It  made  my  heart  ache  to  see  them  there,  and  I  began 
to  think  how  I  could  get  them  clear.  They  talked  to 
gether  in  Hindostanee,  which  is  the  East  Indy  tongue, 
and  I  know  only  a  little  of  it,  but  soon  the  lady  spoke 
to  me  in  English.  There  was  a  plan  in  my  mind  then, 
that  had  come  to  me  before  they  came,  but  without 
their  help  it  would  have  been  no  use.  So  I  told  her 
quickly  to  come  and  stand  close  by  me  when  I  should 
nod.  Then  the  blackamoor  guard  made  me  hold  my 
tongue,  as  I  guessed  he  would.  When  it  came  on  dark, 
and  everything  in  the  camp  was  still,  I  kept  my  eye  on 
the  lazy  black,  by  the  little  light  that  came  from  the 
stars  through  the  tent  opening.  Sure  enough,  he  soon 
dozed  off,  leaning  on  his  spear.  Then  I  signaled  to 
the  others,  and  they  came  over  to  me.  When  the 
Moors  had  made  me  fast  to  the  tent  pole  they  had  left 
about  a  foot  of  drift,  so  that  I  could  sit.  My  hands 
were  so  that  I  could  have  cast  off  from  the  tent  pole  ; 
but  my  wrists  would  still  have  been  fast  together,  and, 
before  the  women  folks  could  have  got  them  loose,  the 
guard  might  have  waked.  So,  instead  of  that,  I  had 
unbent  the  rope  behind  my  back,  but  had  took  a  rolling 
hitch  around  the  pole  again,  a  little  higher  up  than  my 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      443 

knee.  If  a  man  crooks  his  leg's  and  then  raises  up 
again,  keeping  his  back  straight,  he  can  get  a  good 
heft.  The  tent  was  a  very  great  one,  made  of  very  heavy 
skins,  and  I  knew  that  if  I  could  capsize  it  on  the  sen 
try's  head,  I  could  be  loosed  before  he  got  to  me. 

"  The  women  scarce  reached  me  when  another 
man  came  in,  and  the  guard  woke  up.  But  I  had  just 
time  to  unstep  the  tent  pole  and  bring  the  whole  thing 
down  by  the  run,  and  so  by  flattened  out  both  the 
heathen.  Being  braced  and  ready  for  it,  I  was  able  to 
hold  the  tent  clear  of  the  women  with  my  head  and 
shoulders.  That  made  a  kind  of  little  tent  all  around 
us.  The  Moor  who  had  just  come  in  was  close  enough 
to  us  to  have  his  head  clear  of  the  hides,  and  was 
crawling  toward  us  on  his  belly  like  a  blacksnake. 
But  the  Hindoo  woman  sat  on  his  head  and  stopped 
his  noise,  while  the  lady  reached  along  his  side  and 
drew  out  his  scimitar,  and  cut  me  clear.  Then  I  wrung 
the  Moor's  neck,  and  we  got  out.  I  silenced  the  black 
sentry  with  the  scimitar,  because  he  was  flopping  about 
under  the  tent,  trying  to  get  out  and  raise  a  noise,  and 
then  we  ran  down  to  the  shore  of  the  harbor,  which 
was  not  far  off.  There  we  found  a  man  with  a  boat, 
and  took  the  boat  and  pulled  off  to  find  an  English 
man-of-war,  that  the  lady  said  had  been  in  port  that 
day.  But  she  was  gone,  and  the  only  ship  with  a 
Christian  look  to  her  was  a  schooner  just  getting  under 
way.  I  caught  her  counter,  quietlike,  in  the  dark,  and 
got  our  painter  around  one  of  the  stern  davits  she 
carried.  I  towed  well  clear  of  the  port  before  hailing, 
for  I  wanted  first  to  be  sure  what  she  was,  and  that 
her  master  would  not  leave  us  to  the  Moors.  From 
their  lingo  they  were  Spanish  s->  when  \vdl  at  sea,  I 
sang  out,  and  they  took  us  ;ib  ;  LJ  --vas  u  filthy 


444  Smith  Brunt. 

Spanish  slaver,  as  I  could  soon  see  and  smell,  and  no 
fit  craft  for  women  folks,  let  alone  a  lady  like  that. 

"  The  lady  told  me  who  she  was  and  what  she  had 
suffered,  and  it  is  for  her  sake  and  the  little  lad's  that 
I  set  all  this  down  carefully,  so  that  whosoever  reads  it 
will  know  it  is  all  true  and  how  I  came  to  know  it.  It 
is  hard  for  me  to  write,  but  I  would  do  even  more  for 
her  sake,  for  she  was  just  like  an  angel  out  of  heaven. 
Her  name  was  Mrs.  Wycherleigh.  Her  husband  was 
Captain  Arthur  Wycherleigh,  of  the  Second  Bombay 
Luncers,  but  he  had  died  in  Mogador.  They  had  come 
from  the  Indies  with  the  baby  and  the  nurse  in  the  ship 
Polly  of  Salem,  bound  for  Plymouth.  She  had  made  a 
terrible  bad  voyage  from  Bombay,  with  the  fever 
aboard,  and  had  put  into  Mogador  for  fresh  stuff. 
They  were  seized  there  by  the  cursed  heathen  pirates. 
Captain  Wycherleigh  sent  word  to  Tangiers  for  ransom, 
but  he  was  sick  of  the  ship  fever,  and  died  before  help 
came.  Mrs.  Wycherleigh  and  the  nurse  and  baby  were 
prisoned  by  themselves.  At  last,  one  day,  the  brother 
of  Captain  Wycherleigh  came  to  ransom  them,  as  they 
thought.  But  instead  of  that,  he  paid  the  Turk,  who 
had  them  in  charge,  to  keep  them  from  ever  coming 
to  England.  This  is  solemn  truth,  for  Mrs.  Wycher 
leigh  and  the  nurse  both  heard  him  plainly.  The  rea 
son  was  that,  by  the  law,  that  villain  would  get  a  great 
tract  and  would  be  a  sir,  which  is  a  great  thing  in 
England,  like  a  lord,  if  the  little  boy  died,  but  if  not, 
then  the  baby  would  be  the  sir  and  would  get  all  the 
land  on  account  of  his  father.  I  know  little  of  law,  so 
I  do  not  know  for  certain  why  this  was  so  ;  but  it  was 
so  ;  that  much  I  made  fast  in  my  mind.  And  so  the 
law  made  this  man  hate  the  baby.  Mrs.  Wycherleigh 
was  afraid  even  to  go  to  England  for  fear  of  harm  to 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      445 

her  little  son  before  he  grew  up.  I  tried  to  reason 
with  her  as  well  as  I  could,  spite  of  being  but  an  unlet 
tered  man,  though  a  warrant  officer  ;  for  though  I 
knew  no  law,  I  knew  well  enough  that  this  thing  should 
be  told  in  England  and  the  baby  have  his  rights  and 
the  wicked  rascal  get  his  deserts  in  limbo.  I  would 
very  gladly  have  flogged  all  the  skin  off  his  back  my 
self,  and  offered  to  do  so,  but  the  poor  lady  would  not 
listen  to  reason,  being  so  scared  by  the  scoundrel,  and 
nervous-like  about  the  boy.  I  guess  the  dirty  schooner 
and  its  crew  made  her  feel  worse,  too. 

"  The  master  promised  to  put  us  ashore  at  Santa 
Cruz,  but  it  came  on  to  blow  more  than  half  a  gale,  so 
that  he  scudded,  and  would  not  hold  up  for  the  Cana 
ries.  I  knew  then  that  he  was  either  a  coward  or  a  liar, 
for  any  good  seaman  could  have  hove  to  or  even  got 
sail  on  and  made  a  lee  under  Lanzarote,  or  Fuerte- 
ventura,  Island.  Then  he  promised  to  touch  at  the 
Cape  Verds.  I  mistrusted  the  yellow  brute,  knowing 
how  a  dirty  foreign  pirate  like  him  would  have  no  de 
cency,  even  to  a  beautiful  lady  like  that.  He  could 
have  made  a  reward  by  taking  us  into  port,  but  when 
his  breed  sight  a  woman,  they  go  crazy  and  stop  for 
nothing,  neither  fear,  nor  money,  which  they  love  so  for 
the  foul  living  it  gets  them.  So  I  watched  carefully, 
and  well  I  did,  for  one  night  he  came  to  the  cabin 
where  they  slept  and  where  I  was  lying  outside  the 
door.  I  caught  him,  and  parceled  his  head  with  his 
coat.  Then  I  woke  them,  and  broke  open  the  arms- 
chest  in  the  cabin,  and  hove  all  the  firearms  through  a 
port,  but  two  muskets  and  a  brace  of  pistols.  Them  I 
loaded,  and  gave  the  muskets  to  the  Indy  woman  to 
hold,  and  took  the  pistols  myself.  I  had  watched  the 
compass  and  the  log  careful  since  passing  Ventura 


446  Smith  Brunt. 

Island,  and  knew  we  were  not  far  from  the  Cape  Verds 
and  headed  on  a  course  between  them  and  the  coast. 
Indeed,  I  knew  that  if  the  rascal  had  really  meant  to 
make  Porto  Praya,  he  should  have  borne  more  to  the 
West.  We  went  on  deck,  and  first  I  ordered  the  whole 
watch  aft  very  quietly,  so  I  could  keep  an  eye  on  each 
of  them.  I  could  handle  all  there  were,  without  any 
great  trouble,  for  there  was  not  even  a  whole  side  on 
deck,  being  as  the  discipline  was  loose,  and  the  weather 
fine,  and  they  took  things  easy  as  possible.  But  I 
feared  that  in  the  morning  I  might  not  be  able  to  keep 
all  hands  under,  so  I  made  them  get  a  boat  all  ready, 
and  heave  both  their  guns  overboard.  I  shook  the 
mate  a  little,  and  made  him  take  the  wheel,  and  told 
him  that  if  we  did  not  sight  one  of  the  Cape  Verds  at 
daybreak,  I  would  brain  him.  At  that  he  put  her  head 
pretty  near  due  West,  just  as  I  had  mistrusted  he  would 
have  to.  I  gave  him  good  measure  of  time,  and  held 
on  until  pretty  late  into  the  morning  ;  for  I  knew  that 
the  lazy  pirates  below  would  never  turn  out  until  they 
\vere  kicked  out,  or  it  got  too  late  for  any  lubber  to 
sleep  ;  and  I  was  minded  to'  get  a  landfall,  if  I  could, 
before  taking  to  the  boat,  the  more  so  because  there 
were  signs  of  a  blow.  The. weather  looked  so  ugly, 
that  even  after  making  an  island  plain  on  the  weather 
bow,  I  did  not  lay  to,  but  stood  by  the  fore  hatch  and 
kept  on  until  the  first  man  from  below  showed  his  head. 
Him  I  knocked  down  below  again,  gentle-like,  but 
called  down  the  hatchway  that  I  would  kill  the  next 
one.  That  kept  them  quiet  awhile,  until  I  had  made 
those  on  deck  lower  away  the  boat  and  step  the  mast 
in  her  and  help  in  the  women  folks  and  child,  and  then 
I  got  in  with  the  muskets  and  sailed  away. 

"  I   know  now  that   I   ought    to   have    stuck  to  the 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.       447 

schooner  and  risked  the  fight,  for  before  we  could  get 
to  shore  it  came  on  to  blow  terrible  from  the  North 
west.  I  doused  the  sail,  and  tried  to  hold  her  with  the 
oars  until  one  broke.  Then  I  could  do  nothing  with 
such  a  cockleshell,  but  put  her  before  it,  and  scary 
work  enough  it  was  doing  that.  By  the  time  the  wind 
slackened  at  all  we  had  no  hope  left  of  getting  back, 
being  far  to  the  Southeast,  while  it  still  blew  hard  from 
the  Northward.  All  I  could  do  was  to  keep  on,  and 
luff  in  as  much  as  I  dared  for  the  coast.  So  we  drove 
with  a  Northerly  wind  on  the  quarter  for  near  three 
days.  And  all  that  time  that  little,  tender,  fine  lady, 
who  was  made  to  live  all  her  life  in  silks  and  furs  and 
eat  cake  and  wine,  never  complained  once.  She  would 
even  try  to  smile,  but  I  could  see  she  was  wearing  out. 
"  At  last,  we  got  to  an  island  on  the  coast.  The  .na 
tives  were  friendly,  and  treated  us  as  well  as  could  be. 
We  did  everything  we  could  for  that  poor,  lovely  lady, 
but  it  was  too  late  ;  she  just  faded  away.  When  she 
was  going  I  begged  her  to  let  me  go  with  the  little  lad 
to  England  when  I  could,  and  wring  the  neck  of  the 
man  who  had  done  all  this.  But  she  was  a  gentle,  white 
angel,  and  would  not  let  me.  She  told  me  to  keep  the 
boy  out  of  England,  and  never  let  any  one  know  who 
he  was  until  he  was  full-grown,  or  unless  I  heard  for 
certain  of  the  death  of  his  uncle,  who  was  Hugh  Wy- 
cherleigh,  of  Tormouth,  in  Hampshire.  And  then,  at 
her  dying  bed,  I  swore  to  do  that,  and  to  stand  by  the 
lad,  and  when  he  should  be  old  enough  to  put  him  into 
our  Navy  for  a  midshipman  if  I  could,  so  he  would  be 
safe,  and  would  be  kept  a  gentleman.  And  that  oath  I 
have  done  my  best  to  keep  in  all  ways  that  I  can.  She 
gave  me  a  locket  to  keep  for  him,  but  told  me  I  could 
wear  it  as  long  as  I  lived. 


448  Smith  Brunt. 

"  The  nurse,  who  was  a  good,  faithful  woman,  and 
handy,  too,  and  the  boy  and  I  lived  on  that  island  for 
near  two  years  before  any  ship  came  near.  We  had 
only  a  knife,  taken  from  the  slaver,  and  what  tools  we 
could  make,  but  I  had  a  large,  good  craft  part  way 
built,  when  the  Iroquois  came.  I  went  off  to  her  with 
my  little  lad,  but  the  nurse  stayed  behind  to  watch  the 
grave. 

"  That  island  is  the  most  Westerly  of  three  that  lie 
close  in  and  on  the  Northerly  side  of  a  river  mouth  well 
to  the  North  of  the  Sierra  Leone  coast,  about  South- 
east-half-East  from  one,  of  the  Easterly  Cape  Verds, 
though  which  one,  I  do  not  know.  That  is  my  own 
reckoning,  and  Captain  Sponson  of  the  Iroquois  told 
me  that  it  lay  in  eleven  fifty-one,  North,  and  eighteen- 
forty,  West.  The  natives  call  it  Bijunga.  On  a  hilltop 
there,  which  is  the  loftiest  on  the  island  and  bears 
North-by- W^est,  half  a  mile  from  the  great  tree  in  the 
village,  is  her  grave.  It  should  be  marked  with  two 
stones  lashed  a-crosswise.  When  my  little  lad  is  a 
man  and  reads  this,  I  pray  that  he  will  go  to  that  island 
as  soon  as  he  may  find  means  and  get  his  mother's  re 
mains,  and  that  good  East  Indy  woman,  too,  if  she  be 
still  alive,  or  her  body,  if  she  be  dead.  He  must  take 
this  writing  and  show  this  mark,  which  is  my  Serapis 
mark,  for  unless  he  does  that,  he  will  not  be  let  to 
touch  the  grave.  (*  Here,'  said  Mr.  Lawrence  '  is  in 
serted  a  representation  of  Ben's  tattooed  scar.')  Then 
he  must  try  and  get  his  father  at  Mogador,  though  as 
to  that,  I  can  give  him  no  reckoning. 

"  For  the  matter  of  his  English  rights,  he  must  do  as 
he  thinks  his  mother  would  have  him  do,  for  he  can 
tell  what  is  right  better  than  me,  though  I  be  a  warrant 
officer.  If  he  is  minded  to  have  his  birthrights,  he 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      449 

will  find  in  his  mother's  grave  a  gold  snuffbox  marked 
with  his  father's  name,  and  some  letters  stowed  in  an 
earthen  pot.  I  left  them  there  for  fear  of  discovery 
before  the  right  time.  And  he  had  best  find  the  people 
who  were  of  the  ship  Polly  of  Salem,  and  maybe,  too, 
they  can  tell  him  where  his  father  was  buried  and  how 
to  get  traces  of  the  matter  at  Mogador.  But  I  make 
bold  to  beg  him  to  be  careful  how  he  goes  about  the 
law  in  England  ;  for,  though  I  do  not  fear  his  devil 
uncle,  as  his  poor  mother  did,  I  am  greatly  a-scared  of 
the  lawyer  men  if  they  ever  get  fast  to  him.  I  think 
his  mother  would  like  him  to  see  her  folks  in  England, 
anyway,  if  they  be  still  alive,  for  she  talked  of  them 
often.  She  has  a  brother  in  the  British  Navy,  and  of 
him  she  thought  greatly.  Being  a  Navy  officer,  he 
would  likely  give  my  lad  good  and  honest  advice.  But 
it  is  in  my  mind  that  his  mother  would  let  him  stay  in 
the  Service  if  he  gets  into  it,  for  she  seemed  to  like  it 
when  I  said  he  should  be  an  American  commodore  ; 
and  surely  she  was  right  in  that,  though  maybe  as  to 
other  things  she  was  overcarried  in  her  mind  by  her 
suffering,  as  any  poor  little  woman  would  be.  So  my 
lad  must  do  according  to  his  conscience,  but  if  he  be 
in  the  Service  when  he  reads  this,  as  I  hope  he  will  be, 
and  with  a  commission,  too,  then  I  pray  in  my  heart 
that  he  too  will  think  it  right  to  stay  there  and  become 
a  commodore  of  the  United  States  Navy.  For  that  is 
the  grandest  position  on  earth,  seeing  that  the  Pres 
ident,  after  all,  is  but  a  landsman. 

"  Whatever  he  does,  I  pray  the  Lord  as  well  as  I 
know  how  to  care  for  him,  and  I  think  the  Lord  surely 
will,  anyway,  for  her  sake;  but  as  soon  as  I  can,  I  will 
try  to  learn  to  pray  right.  And  whether  my  little  lad 
becomes  a  commodore  or  only  a  sir,  I  hope  he  will 


450  Smith  Brunt. 

sometimes  think  of  me  who  loves  him,  and  of  the  Indy 
nurse,  too,  who  loved  him  and  his  mother. 

"  OREN  BENJAMIN." 

"  Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me 

"  this  26th  day  of  September,  1806. 

"  JOHN  HOWELL, 

"  Supreme  Court  Commissioner, 
"Suffolk  County." 

The  reading  was  followed  by  a  hush,  which  was 
broken  first  by  Tom. 

"  Good  God  !  "  he  muttered,  "  to  think  that  I  saw 
that  man  hacked  to  death  by  my  own  lads,  his  kith  and 
kin,  while  I  cheered  them  on,  and  he  taunted  them 
and  boasted  like  a  savage  of  those  he  himself  had 
killed." 

Then  there  was  silence  again,  while  every  one,  even 
Waxham,  waited  for  the  Squire  to  speak.  For  some 
time  he  sat  with  his  head  down,  leaning  his  broad  chest 
against  the  table,  as  he  had  been  when  he  finished 
reading  ;  then  he  rose,  walked  over  to  the  window  and 
looked  out.  At  last  he  turned,  and  spoke  with  un 
usual  calmness. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  case.  Now, 
if  you  please,  we  will  remove  it  to  the  only  court  that 
has  jurisdiction — the  boy  himself.  Am  I  not  right, 
Bob?" 

"  Perfectly,"  assented  his  friend.  "  Though  remem 
ber,  Harry,"  he  added  gently,  "  that  a  decision  from 
Ted  in  your  favor  can  not  yet  be  final." 

"  By  Jove,  then,"  said  Tom,  grinning  ruefully  ;  "  in 
that  case  1  don't  believe  the  thing  will  be  settled  ;  be 
cause  I  have  chaffed  Ted  so  much  about  the  States, 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      451 

that  he  will  probably  see  all  England  in  a  very  hot 
place  before  he'll  go  there." 

Mr.  Waxham  now  took  the  floor.  "  What  Mr.  Brunt 
says  is  quite  true,"  he  observed,  "  and  possibly  what 
Mr.  Wycherleigh  says  may  also  be  true.  I  had  thought 
that  in  my  dealings  with  men  I  could  never  at  my  age 
be  surprised  any  more;  but  I  confess  to  having  been 
considerably  astonished,  not  to  say  puzzled,  in  the  last 
half  hour.  I  can  even  believe  now  that  the  young  gen 
tleman  who  is  the  subject  of  our  investigations  may 
have  imbibed  such  peculiar — pardon  me,  gentlemen,  I 
mean  that  he  may  be  so  attached  to  his  surroundings 
and  have  such  a  very  proper  sense  of  gratitude  to  his 
benefactor  that,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  has  been  in 
England,  he  may  be  willing  to  forego  his  great  oppor 
tunities — now.  But  how  he  will  consider  the  matter 
when  he  has  outgrown  his  childhood  and  sees  more  of 
the  world,  is  another  question.  You  may  be  aware, 
Mr.  Lawrence,  since  you  seem  to  know  something  of 
our  law,  that  under  it  a  minor  can  not  divest  himself 
of  any  rights.  It  is  my  duty  to  advise  you,  Mr. 
Wycherleigh,  that,  whatever  your  young  nephew's  de 
cision  may  be,  his  existence  will  be  a  cloud  on  your 
title  until  he  attains  the  age  of  twenty-one.  Further 
more,  you  will  then  be  accountable  to  him  for  all  the 
mesne  rents  and  profits." 

"  What  the  deuce  are  those  ? ''  asked  Tom,  in  some 
alarm. 

"Stuff  and  nonsense!"  broke  in  the  Squire,  impa 
tiently.  "  Wycherleigh  shall  live  on  his  estate  and  en 
joy  it  to  his  heart's  content,  as  he  deserves  to  do.  If 
Ted  stays  with  me,  I'll  give  a  bond  for  all  the  income 
up  to  his  majority,  in  case  he  changes  his  mind  then. 
Excuse  me,  Mr.  Waxham;  you  are  quite  right  to  men- 


452  Smith  Brunt. 

tion  the  matter,  of  course,  but  we  can  arrange  that 
perfectly." 

Waxham  bowed.  His  eyes  were  beginning  to 
sparkle. 

« I  say — er,"  said  Tom,  hesitatingly,  "  how  about 
the  name,  you  know  ? " 

"  So  far  as  the  baronetcy  goes,"  explained  Waxham, 
"  it,  of  course,  belongs  to  the  heir  until  he  is  able  to 
renounce  it  ;  but  if  the  young  gentleman  elects  to  re 
main  abroad,  I  can  see  no  impropriety,  while  he  does 
so,  in  addressing  you,  my  dear  Mr.  Wycherleigh,  as  Sir 
Thomas — and  I  shall  certainly  continue  to  do  so." 

"  No,  I'll  be  hanged  if  you  shall,"  answered  Tom- 
"  Not  until  the  handle  belongs  to  me.  But  I'm  not 
talking  about  the  gold  braid.  What  I  mean,  Mr. 
Lawrence,  is  er — won't  you  ask  Ted  to  at  least — er — 
don't  you  think,  you  know,  that  he  ought  to  carry  the 
old  name  ?  It's  his  own,  you  know." 

"  The  name  of  Lawrence  is  not  wholly  disgraceful," 
replied  the  Squire,  a  little  grumblingly. 

"  Oh,  no,  by  Jove,  I  should  say  not,"  assented  Tom, 
hastily.  "  But  for  poor  Arthur's  sake,  you  know,  and 
Ted's  mother." 

"  You're  right,  lad,"  cried  Mr.  Lawrence.  "  I  was  a 
brute  to  hesitate.  I  can't  be  so  selfish  as  that.  If 
their  boy  remains  my  boy,  that  is  all  I  can  ask,  and 
Wycherleigh  he  shall  be.  I'll  make  him  do  that.  And 
now  let  us  go  and  get  my  sentence.  You  come  alone 
with  me,  for  you  ought  to  be  there.  The  rest  of  you 
stay  here,  please.  This  is  going  to  be  the  hardest 
part.  I  suppose  Ted  is  on  board  now,  Smith  ?  " 

Smith  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  gave  the  Squire 
a  note  to  Brown  directing  the  cabin  to  be  put  at  the 
disposal  of  the  visitors  and  that  Teddy.be  given  liberty 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      453 

until  the  afternoon.  Then  Mr.  Lawrence  and  Tom 
went  off  together ;  Captain  Brunt  and  the  lawyer  re 
mained  in  conversation  in  the  sitting  room  ;  and  Smith 
betook  himself  to  other  parts  of  the  hotel. 

One  great  trouble  with  this  story  is  the  way  in  which 
it  goes  tacking  from  one  person  to  another.  Here 
have  we  been  kept  busy  with  old  Oren's  story  and 
Teddy's  affairs  during  most  of  this  chapter,  and  now 
must  needs  go  prying  after  Smith  Brunt  to  find  out 
why  he  left  the  room.  Well,  he  was  successful  in  his 
quest,  exceedingly  so,  and  spent  the  next  hour  or  more 
in  a  distant  corner  of  the  hotel  parlor.  That  room 
was  described  in  the  "  Guide  to  New  York "  as  a 
"  spacious,  commodious  and  palatial  apartment  of  large 
proportions,  with  chaste  decorations  and  elegant  horse 
hair  furniture  of  the  latest  pattern,  equal  to  any  in 
Europe."  And  yet  Smith  never  had  the  thoughtfulness 
to  announce  that  the  conference  was  over  in  the 
Wycherleighs'  sitting  room.  Captain  Brunt  and  Mr. 
Waxham  finally  brought  that  news  themselves,  and 
found  young  Lady  Wycherleigh  marooned  at  a  marble- 
top  table  in  the  midst  of  the  dreary  waste,  and  deeply 
interested  in  an  album  of  New  York  done  in  Proper 
Colors.  The  other  two  were  afar  in  the  corner. 
Captain  Brunt  was  duly  presented,  Mary  Wycherleigh 
was  rescued  from  the  desert  table  and  the  "  proper 
colors,"  and  the  whole  party  made  the  haven  of  the 
private  room. 

Mr.  Lawrence  and  Tom  returned  shortly,  and  with 
them  Teddy.  The  Squire's  beaming  face  was  enough 
to  announce  the  decision  of  Sir  Theodore,  and  an  in 
quiring  "Well,  Ted?"  elicited  from  the  baronet  him 
self  the  indignant  response,  "  What  do  you  suppose  ?  " 

"  But  there  is  one  good  thing  about  this,"  continued 


454  Smith  Brunt. 

the  gallant  midshipman,  walking  up  to  Edith  Wycher- 
leigh,  "  you  are  my  aunt  now,  so  I  can  kiss  you." 
And  he  did.  And  then  Mary  Wycherleigh  claimed  and 
promptly  received  the  same  nepotal  tribute. 

"  There,"  cried  the  radiant  old  Squire.  "  Begad!  the 
youngster  is  getting  the  best  part  of  his  inheritance, 
after  all.  And  now  the  next  thing  to  do  is  for  all  of 
you  to  come  to  me  at  Bayhampton.  1  insist  on  it. 
We  can  start  to-morrow.  To-day  I  shall  be  busy  look 
ing  for  a  ship  to  charter  by  and  by." 

The  Squire's  invitation  was  accepted,  though  on 
terms  not  quite  so  summary.  Indeed,  he  himself 
found  occupation  for  more  than  that  day  in  making 
arrangements  for  the  carrying  out  of  Teddy's  sacred 
duty.  It  was  decided  that  the  young  man  should  leave 
the  Navy  for  a  year, — a  recess  that  could  be  well 
afforded  at  his  age, — and  should  go  as  soon  as  possible, 
with  Mr.  Lawrence  and  a  tutor,  in  a  chartered  ship  to 
the  West  coast  of  Africa. 

Waxham  felt  obliged  to  return  to  his  practice,  his 
tub,  and  the  Times,  and  therefore  sailed  on  the  next 
packet ;  but  the  rest  of  the  party  went  to  Long  Island. 
Smith  got  a  short  leave  and  went  with  them,  and  so 
came  to  the  very  happiest  fortnight  of  his  whole  life  so 
far.  He  and  Carm  initiated  Tom  in  all  the  autumn 
sports  of  the  South  Side.  Tom  broke  his  heart  over 
the  bay  shooting,  for  he  would  try  to  throw  up  his  gun 
and  kill  ducks  like  driven  pheasants  ;  but  he  was  quite 
at  home  with  the  quail.  He  enjoyed  it  all  immensely, 
and  frequently  remarked, 

"  I  say,  Smith,  wasn't  it  a  jolly  good  thing,  you  know, 
that  we  didn't  pink  each  other  on  the  Chesapeake,  eh  ?" 

And  Smith  would  laugh,  and  reply,  "  Yes,  Tom,  I 
guess  it  was." 


The  Affidavit  of  Oren  Benjamin.      455 

Oh,  no,  madame,  young  Lieutenant  Brunt  did  not 
spend  all  his  time  in  gunning, — not  by  any  means. 
You  are  quite  right  ;  at  the  Squire's  house  there  was 
something  better  than  broadbill.  But  Smith  took  no 
risk  of  shortening  this  sojourn  in  Eden.  On  the  very 
last  day,  he  and  Miss  Edith  went  for  a  stroll  in  the 
Lawrence's  wood  lane.  And  he  had  in  his  pocket  a 
dried  rose  that  had  bloomed  in  England, 

Now,  my  dear  reader,  if  at  this  point  you  are  still  my 
dear  reader,  we  have  cruised  with  Smith  Brunt  over  a 
great  part  of  the  globe.  We  have  watched  him  in  the 
South  Bay  and  the  South  Seas,  and  followed  him  into 
battle,  and  captivity,  and  through  calm  and  storm,  and 
on  to  Rider's  Crab  Flat.  After  some  of  his  friends,  I 
have  inveigled  you  down  the  coast  of  Africa  as  far 
as  the  Line.  I  have  even  brutally  overhauled  his  boyish 
heart  and  exposed  its  early  throbbing  for  your  amuse 
ment  ;  but  now  it  has  come  to  an  affair  more  serious 
and  private,  which  is  none  of  our  business.  Into  that 
wood  lane  I  will  not  go,  and  neither  shall  you. 


i862 

IN  the  store  at  Bayhampton,  before  the  post-office 
window,  stood  an  old  gentleman  and  a  pretty  little 
white-haired  lady  eagerly  reading  together  a  letter  that 
had  just  come.  Beside  them  was  a  small  granddaughter 
with  a  mop  of  brown  curls.  We  will  read  the  letter 
over  the  old  lady's  shoulder,  if  you  do  not  object — there 
is  nothing  very  private  in  it.  The  handwriting  has  been 
described  once  before,  in  its  early  existence,  but  would 
hardly  be  recognized  now  as  the  same.  The  letter  ran 
as  follows  : 

"  On  board  U.  S.  Flagship  Wenonah, 

"  May  i5th,  1862. 
"  MY  DEAR  SMITH  : 

"  Just  a  line  to  tell  you  that  both  your  boy,  Cap 
tain  Bob,  and  myself  came  through  the  little  matter 
here  yesterday  all  right.  They  have  given  him  the 
Matawaxon  now,  as  he  may  have  told  you,  and  he 
fought  her  to  perfection.  I  saw  him  this  morning,  and 
he  tells  me  that  little  Smith  was  on  the  Hartford. 
Isn't  it  splendid  that  your  grandson  should  have  been 
with  our  old  friend  in  his  great  triumph  ?  They  say 
that  the  grade  of  Rear-Admiral  is  at  last  going  to  be 
created,  and  given  to  Farragut  for  this,  and  perhaps  to 
one  or  two  others  also.  Who  knows  but  that  old 
Oren's  plans  for  me  may  be  outdone,  and  I  may  get  a 
step  higher  than  even  he  ever  thought.  I  shall  cer 
tainly  do  my  best  for  it,  but  am  very  willing  to  come 
to  it  by  seniority  in  time  of  peace,  for  indeed  this  war, 
456 


i862.  457 

righteous  though  it  be,  is  more  dreadful  than  even  the 
old  one,  that  you  and  I  and  your  good  wife  remember 
well  enough.  However,  I  have  no  time  to  moralize 
now.  Kiss  my  Aunt  Edith  and  the  grandchicks  for 
me,  and  congratulate  the  latter  on  their  big  brother. 
When  you  write  to  Tom  ask  him  whether  he  remembers 
little  Davy. 

"  Yours  in  haste, 

"THEODORE  LAWRENCE  WYCHERLEIGH." 


After  perusing  this  letter,  the  old  couple  went  out  of 
the  door  with  the  little  girl.  On  the  porch  sat  the 
Oldest  Bayman,  an  individual  so  venerable  that  he  was 
next  in  the  line  of  succession  for  the  position  of  Oldest 
Inhabitant.  The  old  man  was  waving  a  newspaper, 
and  holding  forth  in  a  high,  weather-beaten  voice  to  a 
group  in  front  of  him. 

"  Said  he  couldn't  do  it,  didn't  they  ?  The  forts  was 
agoin'  to  stop  him,  wasn't  they?  and  the  chains  was 
agoin'  to  stop  him  ;  and  the  dirty  sneakin'  torpeders 
was  agoin'  to  stop  him  ;  and  the  goldarned,  new-fangled, 
cast-iron  Noah's  Arks  was  agoin'  to  knock  him  full  o' 
holes,  wasn't  they  ?  Stop  him  ?  Stop  nothin'.  He 
went  in  like  a  duck's  foot  in  the  mud.  'Cause  why  ? 
'Cause  he  was  raised  in  the  old  Service  ;  that's  why. 
They  didn't  send  the  mids  to  college  then  ;  they  sent 
'em  to  sea.  That's  how  he  was  brung-up,  and  I  done 
it.  I  knowed  him  when  he  was  a  little  reefer  knee- 
high  to  a  pollywog,  and  I  learned  him  all  he  knows." 

"  Was  that  when  you  was  king  of  the  Cannibal 
Islands,  Uncle  Carm  ? "  asked  an  irreverent  one. 

"  No,  young  smarty.  It  was  when  I  was  a  clippin' 
foretopman  on  the  United  States  frigate  Essex,  32,  and, 
by  jiggers,  that's  more'n  you'll  ever  be.  Commodore 
Farragut  and  Commodore  Ted,  too,  was  both  little 


458  Smith   Brunt. 

shavers  together  on  her  ;  and  I  suppose  you  won't 
believe  that,  neither  ?  Oh  well,  if  I  am  a  liar  as  usual, 
just  ask  Cap'n  Brunt,  there.  He  knows.  Ain't  what  I 
say  so,  Cap'n  Smith  ?  " 

"  Of  course,  Carm,  always — at  any  rate,  it  is  this 
time,"  replied  the  old  gentleman,  who  had  caught  only 
the  last  remarks.  "  Our  little  mids  of  the  Essex  are 
both  great  men  now,"  and  he  walked  off,  laughing, 
with  his  wife  and  granddaughter. 

"Yes  yes,  you  bet  they're  great  men,"  continued  the 
graybeard,  "  and  I  always  knowed  they  would  be  ;  and 
the  old  Service  is  chuck  full  o'  men  pretty  near  as  good, 
and  always  has  been,  and  always  will  be,  spite  o'  the 
new-fangled  college. 

"  And  there  goes  one  of  the  best  of  'em  now.  Yes  yes, 
the  best  that  ever  trod  a  deck.  He'd  stick  it  out  in 
any  weather,  even  if  he  didn't  git  his  name  in  the  pa 
pers.  Look  what  he  done  in  the  Mexican  War  where 
they  set  us  to  blockadin'  that  rotten  fever  hole  Caripan, 
all  alone  in  the  old  Adirondack,  All  the  others  was 
havin'  fun  with  the  Greasers,  in  boat  expeditions  and 
landin'  parties  and  things,  and  gettin'  lots  o'  glory  and 
promotion  ;  and  no  great  danger  in  it  neither,  seein'  as 
the  Mexicans  couldn't  hit  a  flock  o'  barns  roostin'  at 
six  feet.  But  when  it  come  to  settin'  right  still  and 
starin'  Yellow  Jack  in  the  eye,  that  wasn't  so  nice. 
And  that's  what  they  kept  him  at  month  in  and  month 
out  ;  him  that  had  served  in  the  old  war,  the  real  war 
against  real  men,  not  Mexican  soldiers,  but  British 
sailormen,  him  that  had  tackled  the  Shannons  nigh 
single-handed,  and  been  wounded  most  to  death  by  it  ; 
him  that  had  fought  in  the  dyin'  fight  of  the  little  Essex  ; 
him  that  had  never  shirked,  nor  grumbled  in  forty 
years  ;  they  kept  him  there  where  no  one  never  heard 


i862.  459 

of  him,  and  never  an  enemy  showed  up  except  the  fever. 
'Cause  why  ?  'Cause  they  knowed  well  enough  that 
he'd  just  obey  orders  and  keep  his  head  shut,  and  they 
knowed,  too,  that  every  one  under  him  was  glad  to  stay 
wherever  he  was,  and  there'd  be  no  growlin'  on  his  ship. 
He  didn't  make  no  fuss,  though  everybody  knowed 
that  he'd  ought  to  ha'  had  command  o'  that  whull 
squadron  himself.  He  just  'tended  to  keepin'  his  ship 
clean  and  his  crew  livened  up,  though  he  was  one  o'  the 
sickest  himself,  and  we  near  lost  him.  He  pulled  us 
through,  just  by  his  clear  grit  and  spirits,  b'  Guy  ;  and 
every  man  Jack  that  was  on  that  ship  will  tell  you  the 
same  thing.  And  what  did  the  papers  ever  say  about 
it  ?  Just  about  two  lines,  that  Cap'n  Brunt  of  the  Adi 
rondack  was  invalided  home,  and  had  '  had  no  share  in 
the  glorious  achievements  of  the  present  war.'  And 
alongside  o'  that,  two  or  three  columns  o'  glorious 
achievements,  with  headlines  that  were  well  worth  the 
price  o'  the  paper.  Oh,  no,  he  ain't  never  come  to  be 
no  '  heroj  Cap'n  Smith  ain't.  But  'Y  Guy,  I  dunno,— 
yes,  b'  Guy,  I  do  know,  he  was  somethin'  that's  just  as 
good  as  any  hero,  and  a  darn  sight  better  than  some: — 
he  was  a  straight-out  officer  of  the  United  States 
Navy." 


BY  LOUIS  TRACY. 


THE  FINAL  WAR. 

An   Historical   Romance  of  the  Near  Future.     With  16  full-page 

Illustrations.     Large  12° $1.50 

Paper,  16° 75 

The  clever  historian  of  "  The  Final  War "  has  described  with 
historic  fidelity  and  with  no  little  dramatic  force  certain  very  import- 
ant  international  complications  which  are  to  occur  at  the  close  of 
the  present  century.  Jealousy  of  Great  Britain  has  united  for  the 
moment  certain  of  the  other  great  Powers  in  a  scheme  for  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  British  Empire.  The  United  States,  taking  the 
ground  that  this  scheme  constitutes  ?.  crime  against  civilization,  joins 
hands  with  Great  Britain.  The  result  of  a  war  so  geneial  as  to  be 
nearly  universal  i~  to  lay  an  ^ssnied  foundation  for  a  final  peace 
among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

"  A  capital  story  and  full  of  action.  .  .  .  Such  a  vast  topic  as 
a  great  war  in  Europe  the  author  has  treated  in  the  cleverest  manner." 
—N.  Y.  Times. 

"  We  don't  know  when  we  have  been  so  much  diverted  as  by  the 
perusal  of  this  book  of  Mr0  Tracy's.  .  .  .  It  if  a  grand  and 
glorious  military  and  political  jamboree,  with  a  love-story  incidentally 
running  through  it ;  and  we  cordially  recommend  it  to  those  of  our 
readers  who  like  works  of  imagination  not  unmixed  with  considerable 
humor." — The  Bookman. 

AN  AMERICAN  EMPEROR. 

The  Story  of  the  Fourth  Empire  of  France.     With  17  full-page  illus 
trations.     12° $1.50 

*'  'An  American  Emperor'  is  a  notable  book.  The  plot  is  skill- 
fully  constructed,  and  the  many  dramatic  incidents  are  well  described.' 
— N.  Y.  Herald. 

"  This  is  a  rattling  good  story  of  intrigue,  plot,  counterplot,  ad 
venture,  fight,  and  phenomenal  undertakings." — Boston  Herald. 

THE  LOST  PROVINCES. 

How  Vansittart  Came  Back  to  France.     With  12  full-page  illustra 
tions.      12° $1-5° 

"  The  story  is  all  fresh,  novel,  ingenious,  in  a  certain  sense  far-see 
ing,  like  the  work  of  a  poet — genuinely  creative.  And  with  each  of 
his  books  Mr.  Tracy  has  shown  increasing  confidence  and  command 
of  his  resources." — Chicago  Chronicle. 

"  The  novel  is  bright  and  contains  some  admirable  chapters.  The 
ocean  of  action  is  always  at  flood-tide  and  it  sweeps  on  with  refresh 
ing  vigor.  It  is  an  unique  military  story." — Boston  Gazette. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London. 


£bree  IRotable  Books 


The  Red  Republic.  A  Romance  of  the  Commune.  By  ROBERT 
W.  CHAMBERS,  author  of  "  The  King  in  Yellow,"  etc.  Second 
edition.  Large  12° $1.25 

11  With  all  its  rush  and  excitement  there  is  a  solid  basis  of  painstaking  and 
thoughtfulness  in  '  The  Red  Republic.'  Mr.  Chambers  is  wholly  free  from  self- 
consciousness  ;  indeed  his  gifts  seem  to  be  little  short  of  genius.  Wonderfully 
vivid  and  graphic." — N.  Y.  Press. 

"  Mr.  Chambers  shows  great  familiarity  with  the  many  dreadful  days  of  1871, 
and  Mr.  Thiers'  policy  is  critically  examined.  'The  Red  Republic'  abounds  in 
action."—^.  Y.  Times. 

" '  The  Red  Republic '  has  the  healthly  ring  of  a  young  man's  book.  Mr 
Chambers  can  do  what  few  men  can  do,  he  can  tell  a  story." — JV.  Y.  Journal. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  one  need  hesitate  to  call  '  The  Red  Republic '  the  best 
American  novel  of  the  year." — VANCE  THOMPSON  in  N.  Y.  Morning  Advertiser, 

"  The  book  will  commend  itself  not  only  for  its  strength  and  vividness,  but  for 
imagination  and  fancy.  .  .  .  Glow  with  gentle  beauty  and  romance,  putting 
in  striking  contrast  the  barbarity  of  war." — DROCH  in  N,  Y.  Life. 

A  King  and  a  Few  Dukes.  A  Romance.  By  ROBERT  W. 
CHAMBERS,  author  of  "The  Red  Republic."  Large  12°  $125 

"  No  superior  fiction  has  appeared  in  months.     .     ...     .     It  is  a  charming  love 

story,  attractively  told  in  a  way  that  is  essentially  Mr.  Chambers'  own." — N.  y. 
Times. 

"  A  more  charming,  wholly  delightful  story,  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  in  the 
whole  range  of  English  fiction.  That  is  saying  much,  but  not  one  bit  more  than 
the  book  deserves.  .  .  .  The  characters  are  wonderfully  well  drawn." — N,  Y 
World. 

"This  latest  of  Mr.  Chambers'  stories  is  written  in  a  very  charming  manner, 
and  with  all  the  grace  and  finish  that  have  made  the  writings  of  the  author  so 
popular  during  the  past." — Albany  Union. 

The  Maker  of  Moons.  By  ROBERT  W.  CHAMBERS,  author  of 
•*  A  King  and  a  Few  Dukes."  Large  12°,  gilt  top  .  $i  50 

"  Mr.  Chambers  writes  with  the  irresistible  fluent  vigor  that  characterizes  the 
born  story-teller.  .  .  .  His  stories  are  in  great  part  as  improbable  as  the 
famous  4  She  '  by  Rider  Haggard,  but  the  reader  having  once  begun  it  is  impossi 
ble  for  him  not  to  continue  to  the  end.  In  the  prebent  volume  there  are  also  three 
stories  which,  on  a  basis  of  probability,  develop  a  series  of  incidents  illustrated 
with  humor  and  pathos  which  makes  them  distinctively  American." — Boston  Lit* 
erary  world. 

Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  and  London 


STORIES  OF  COLLEGE  LIFE 

Harvard  Stories.     Sketches  of  the  Undergraduate.     By  W. 

K.  POST.      i5th  edition.     12°,  $1.00  ;  paper  .     50  cts. 

"  The  undergraduate  who  haunts  the  classic  shades  of  Cambridge  has 
often  been  sketched,  but  never  on  the  whole  with  so  much  piquancy 
and  fidelity  to  truth  as  by  Mr.  Post." — Boston  Beacon. 

Yale  Yarns.     By  J.  S.  WOOD.     Illustrated.     5th    edition. 
12°,  $1.00  ;  paper 50  cts. 

"  A  bright,  realistic  picture  of  college  life,  told  in  an  easy  conversa 
tional,  or  descriptive  style,  and  cannot  fail  to  genuinely  interest  the 
reader  who  has  the  slightest  appreciation  of  humor.  The  volume  is 
illustrated  and  is  just  the  book  for  an  idle  or  lonely  hour." — Los  Angeles 
Times. 

A  Princetonian.     A  Story  of  Undergraduate  Life  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey.     By  JAMES  BARNES.     Illustrated. 

12° ...        $1     25 

"  Mr.  Barnes  is  a  loyal  son  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  with  the 
cleverness  and  zeal  to  write  this  story  of  undergraduate  life  in  the 
college.  There  is  enough  of  fiction  in  the  story  to  give  true  livelinesf 
to  its  fact.  .  .  .  Mr.  Barnes's  literary  style  is  humorous  and  vivid." 
Boston  7  'ranscripl. 

The  Babe,  B.A.     Stories  of  Life  at  Cambridge  University. 

By  EDWARD  F.  BENSON.     Illustrated.     12°    .     $i  oo 

"  Distinctly  lifelike  and  entertaining.  .  .  .  There  is  possibly  an 
oversupply  of  the  dialect,  but  this  dialect  is  assuredly  clever  while  ir 
responsible,  and  is  irradiated  with  ingeniously  misapplied  quotations 
and  with  easy  paradox.  .  .  .  The  local  color  is  undeniably  good." 
— London  Athenceum. 

At  Wellesley.    Wellesley  Stories.    Legenda  for  1896.     12°, 

75  cts- 

Vassar  Studies.     By  JULIA  AUGUSTA  SCHWARTZ.     Illus 
trated.     12° $i   25 

Miss  Schwartz's  collection  of  studies  has  been  planned  to  reproduce, 
by  means  of  emphasizing  in  each  paper  a  characteristic  element  or 
quality  of  student  life,  a  faithful  impression  of  the  spirit  and  the  per 
sonality  of  modern  Vassar.  She  has  treated  of  character  rather  than 
incident ;  yet  her  stories  are  not  lacking  in  action  nor  ir  the  picturesque 
background  of  college  pastime  as  well  as  that  of  collegv  work. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


